Erik ten Hag Calls Alan Shearer 'Stupid' for Criticizing Marcus Rashford

Erik ten Hag has dismissed Alan Shearer's criticism of Marcus Rashford as "stupid," coming to the defense of his struggling England forward.

Shearer had harshly criticized Rashford's performances in Manchester United's 2-1 defeat to Brighton and their 1-0 win over Fulham. He particularly targeted Rashford's lack of goals and frequent offside runs during the Brighton match, leading to Rashford's substitution in the 65th minute.

In response, Ten Hag defended Rashford ahead of United's Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday. Rashford, aiming for his third league goal at Old Trafford since January, will look to rebound from a challenging previous season.

“Everyone gets criticism from you guys, it doesn’t matter what we are doing, if we are winning, if we are losing, if I take a player off, the conclusion is I was not happy with him,” Ten Hag said.

“I was very happy with Rashy in pre-season, against Fulham, also against Brighton. It is not why I took him off, because his performances or level were not right – no, we had to rotate and we have good players on the bench as well, you bring new energy.

“There will be rotation and if then there is the conclusion the player is not performing – [it] can be sometimes, definitely it wasn’t in this case. Stupid analysis in this case from the pundits.”

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Shearer had said of Rashford on Match of the Day: “He’s had two games this season, Marcus Rashford, and he’s not had one shot at goal.

“Fifty-seven goals they [United] scored last season [in the league]. That was the worst in the top half.

“So, Ruud van Nistelrooy [Ten Hag’s new assistant] has been brought into there. He’s going to have to work his magic somehow.

“I know they’ve got [Rasmus] Hojlund out injured, but when he comes in he’s [Rashford] going to have to improve on that because on [this] evidence and in the game against Fulham he’s not been anywhere near good enough in front of goal.”

Ten Hag has been gradually integrating new signing Joshua Zirkzee, who netted a crucial late winner against Fulham.

Rasmus Højlund, who sustained a hamstring injury during pre-season against Arsenal, is expected to be sidelined for six weeks. Although Ten Hag confirmed that Højlund would return after the international break, he was uncertain about the exact timing.

“After the break, but when exactly after the break... I think it will be about three weeks from now. We need to see how his recovery progresses to get him match-fit,” Ten Hag explained. “He’ll return to the pitch, but it will take some time to build up his fitness.”

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