(Reuters) – Manchester United are capable of winning big trophies and need one final push to bridge the gap to Europe’s elite clubs, forward Marcus Rashford has said.
United have not lifted a trophy since 2017, when Jose Mourinho guided them to League Cup and Europa League success, while their last Premier League triumph came in 2012-13 under Alex Ferguson.
Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup last season and Rashford believes it is only a matter of time before they get their hands on silverware.
“I believe that the team that we have now is capable of winning big trophies,” the England forward told the official Manchester United podcast on Saturday.
“We are not quite there but I feel like we are close. We just need to make that final push to be a team that can win trophies and fight for everything.
“In the big games, we go toe-to-toe with any team and we know that we can do it. We have confidence on the pitch that we can beat them, whether it is Liverpool, Manchester City or Paris St Germain.”
United are seventh in the Premier League on 23 points, eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool with two games in hand, and Rashford is confident his side can wipe away the deficit with a strong run in the festive period.
“We have to go back to spells where it’s worked, where we’ve won 10 or 11 games, and just do it again,” Rashford said. “We have to show that we’re ready to step up and be that team that’s going to be fighting for the title.”
United face Leeds United later on Sunday.
Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry