Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna believes Marcus Rashford’s loan move to Aston Villa could help reignite his career and has backed him to rediscover the quality that helped him do some “incredible things” at Manchester United.. McKenna worked with Rashford when he was a first-team coach at United under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He was aware of the forward’s ability having initially started life at Old Trafford as a coach in the academy.. Rashford scored 138 goals in 426 games for United and won five major trophies, but his time at his boyhood clubs looks to be ending acrimoniously. He was banished from the first-team squad by Ruben Amorim in mid-December and hasn’t featured since, completing a loan move to Villa Park in January that contains an option to buy in the summer.. McKenna praised Rashford for his achievements at United and when asked why his career at Old Trafford had stalled, reflected on the difficulties of a long career in the game for players who begin so early.. “I think football careers are tough, especially when you start as young as Marcus did and you break in at 18. If you play until mid-30s or beyond, then it’s not all going to be smooth sailing and it very rarely is,” he said.. “It’s always easy to look at the negative aspect and you could certainly flip that on the head and say that he’s a young player who’s come through the academy from Wythenshawe and played for his boyhood club and won trophies and broken records and done some incredible things.. “In life, in football, things don’t always go in a smooth direction. He’s still young enough, he’s still talented enough so I’m sure he’ll be working hard to play again regularly and hit really good form.”. McKenna knows all about Rashford from their time working together at Old Trafford and has no doubt about the quality the England international possesses.. “Yeah, he was enjoyable to work with. Of course, a big talent,” he said. “I had known him for a little bit longer because he’d come through the academy set-up. I was close with the academy coaches who worked with him, so it was pretty easy for me to build a good relationship and a good trust with him.. “He’s not so much of a young player anymore, but he was when I worked with him. Most young players, building that trust and that rapport is important. We managed to have that and he’s a big talent.. “Hopefully, this will be a good move for him in terms of getting back into form and playing regularly, which I’m sure he’ll want to do.. “I’m sure he had some different options and has made his judgement on the right criteria and he certainly went to a good club to play under a top manager. I hope it goes well for him, but of course, not on Saturday.”. Ipswich travel to Villa Park this weekend, and Rashford will aim to build on a bright cameo off the bench on his debut for his new club against Tottenham last weekend.. “I think Marcus at his best would be an addition to any team in the league really. We know what a threat he is,” said McKenna.. “Of course, the boys faced him as well not so long ago with Man Utd (Rashford scored an early opener at Portman Road), but I’ve also seen him up close at his best as well and he can be a fantastic player.. “We know his qualities. We know there’s a chance that we’ll come up against him in some respect on Saturday, whether that’s from the start or off the bench. They’ve got a really deep, high quality forward unit really where they can make really impactful subs.. “They can change the balance of the attacking unit by just changing some personnel and you’re going to face a really strong front four at the start of the game and there’s every chance you’re going to face a really strong, different front four at the end of the game.. “We’ve had to be thorough in our preparation and look forward to taking on that challenge and Marcus will be part of that.”
