Rashford: Everyone is very positive ahead of Christmas fixtures

Manchester United had the last two Premier League games postponed following a Covid outbreak at the club. It was reported up to 19 players and staff tested positive, meaning the matches were called off and the training ground was closed. The timing couldn’t have been any worse, given the fixture congestion ahead and new manager Ralf Rangnick needing time on the pitch to implement his new style of play.

However, Carrington is open again and, as it stands, our match against Newcastle on December 27th is still set to go ahead. Two matches on Boxing Day have already been called off.

Marcus Rashford has spoken to the official site about the mood of the squad now they are back in training.

The lads have been training and today we brought all the rest of the lads back to training, there are only a couple left that will be coming in tomorrow. So, we’ve pretty much got the full squad back, which is a positive going into the week.

Everyone is looking forward and everyone is very positive at the minute. We were all disappointed when the last game got cancelled but, at the end of the day, there’s nothing you can really do about it. We have to just focus on the next game that will be played and hopefully that game goes ahead.

United will play three games in a week, with the postponed games yet to be rescheduled, but Rashford enjoys this period of the year when the matches come thick and fast.

I definitely enjoy this time of year. I think the way you start the season and the way you play, and the results you get around the Christmas period, are probably the two most important points [in the season]. So, if we have a good Christmas period now, then we can keep that momentum going and that will take you into the big games where the trophies are, come the end of the season.