Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer launched a passionate defense of misfiring French forward Anthony Martial following his relatively poor run of form.
Martial has struggled for steady performances of late, netting just one goal in his past six appearances across all competitions which was incidentally against League Two opposition Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup last month.
The 24-year-old striker failed to find the back of the net for United in Saturday’s goalless Premier League draw at Old Trafford to Wolverhampton Wanderers, but Solskjaer has backed Martial to come good.
While speaking to reporters, the 46 years old Norwegian explained that Martial is giving everything for the club in training and running a lot more than normal, “He’s giving us everything. I think he’s started the last eight games in this month, and he’s running probably 20 percent more than what he did when I came here, That shift goes with all the other players as well, by the way. So it’s not just mental robustness and tactical, it’s that physical side we’ve had to work with because they are making strides. But the difference in that, compared to when I came in, the squad wasn’t right.”
With the injury to 22-year-old English forward Marcus Rashford, Martial has not been able to step up and score goals on a regular basis but Solskjaer is still delighted with the performance levels and hard work that Martial is undergoing in training, “We’ll give him [Martial] more support, give him rest when he deserves it. If he does have that rest, if he plays a little bit less – because he’s been asked to play too much as well, especially now when Marcus [Rashford] is injured – as a striker, if you don’t just get there that split second, that’s a big, massive difference. I’ve praised him, I’ve sat down with him and I’m delighted with him. I know that he’s tired, but he’s never ever dodged a training session. He’s training, he’s available for every game, so I’m delighted with the boy.”
