Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has admitted that he “needed time to switch off” ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Speaking to the club’s media, he asserted his delight at the prospect of returning to training and working with new manager Erik Ten Hag after not having to endure a full pre-season for three years.
“We have got that feeling of excitement and that buzz around the training ground again and so it is definitely positive going into pre-season,” he said.
“It is just about, one, getting the principles right of how Erik wants us to play and the details, and, two, enjoying it.
“In the first week of training we have done both and everyone is looking forward to going on the tour and putting what we have done in training into the first games.
“It is a fresh start for everyone and for me personally I have had quite a long break, a nice camp before coming back into training, and how we are starting off on the right foot.
“Like I said, everyone is looking forward to pre-season now and going out to try to put into the games what we have learned in training so far, and what we will continue to learn, not only in the pre-season but throughout the season as well.”
Rashford has had plenty of rest, and is relishing the challenges ahead.
“I have definitely not had that much rest before in a summer break, so it was a little bit strange at first and I had to adjust my program a little bit, make it a little bit longer, so I could come in with a positive look on everything, and like I say we are excited to go away [on tour] now. You feel every day now you are getting that one step sharper and one step fitter to being ready for the season.
“I don’t think I have had a proper pre-season since 2019 so for me it is definitely a positive thing. I feel like I probably needed that time to switch off a little bit and me having that time enabled me to refocus a lot earlier than I expected to be honest. It [the break] was just a few days over four weeks and I always split it in half, so I had two weeks when I was just relaxing and a little over two weeks when I was training so it’s been a good period for me.
“Like I say, I feel ready and focused so when that first game does come it’s good to know you have done almost six weeks of training beforehand. It will definitely be a positive.”
Man United travel to Thailand, Australia and Norway during their pre-season tour, before returning for their Premier League opener v Brighton at Old Trafford on August 7.
