Ten Hag is helping Rashford prove the doubters wrong...including McClaren

ONE of the biggest positives of Erik ten Hag's tenure as United manager so far has been the speed at which several individuals have improved under his coaching methods.

- GEORGE SMITH

The Dutchman, who will be looking to oversee a fourth successive win when the Reds travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa this afternoon, arrived at Old Trafford with a reputation for making players better and bringing the best out of what he has got to work with. Although the season is only three months old, evidence to back that up is already mounting in M16.

Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford are just four players who have certainly benefitted from the Dutchman's appointment so far.

In the eyes of many supporters, Dalot, rightfully so, has been dubbed as the Reds' most improved player so far this term.

The right-back has developed at a rapid rate of knots, becoming one of the most important figures in Ten Hag's thinking.

But while Dalot's recent form has been massively encouraging, there is no escaping the fact that Rashford has bettered his goals tally for the whole of last season by two already.