Wayne Rooney believes Marcus Rashford must be more ruthless, patient and stay in the middle of the goal in order to return to form for Manchester United following their 1-0 FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils won the clash in the 89th minute, with Bruno Fernandes' free kick headed home by Casemiro.
While United won, however, Rashford cut a frustrated figure up top.
The England international blazed two efforts over and was visibly irked at a lack of service from his team-mates.
Wayne Rooney has given Marcus Rashford advice after the Man Utd striker struggled in Nottingham Forest win
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Rooney understands why Rashford may be feeling frustrated at United amid their issues under manager Erik ten Hag this season.
And the Red Devils icon has now given his former team-mates three pieces of advice in order to boost his chances of shining in the No 9 role.
"You need the team to create chances for you if you are playing as a number nine," he said while working for the BBC.
"Marcus Rashford needs to be more ruthless and be patient and stay in the middle of the goal.
"You just want to see more from him."
Rashford was outstanding for United last season, scoring 30 goals across all competitions to earn a bumper new contract.
He has dropped off considerably this term, however, managing to net just five times.
Rashford was deployed down the middle for the clash with Forest in the absence of Rasmus Hojlund, who is currently sidelined through injury.
A left winger by trade, it's clear the England star's confidence is low as he looks to get back to his best.
And Rooney feels Rashford's lack of self-belief is impacting his game as talk of a potential move to Paris Saint-Germain swirls.
"Confidence is the main factor, he hasn't been scoring regularly this season and he maybe needs to simplify his game to get back in the groove," he said.
"He's not the most vocal lad. His body language doesn't look great at times but he's not like that.
"The senior players need to get more out of him and get him fired up."
Manager Ten Hag, meanwhile, hit back at critics of his United side after their win over Forest - insisting they are consistent, despite their iffy form this term.
“It’s the best time to score at the end. On Saturday we felt a defeat in stoppage time [against Fulham]," he said.
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Casemiro netted the only goal of the game as Man Utd beat Nottingham Forest in their FA Cup clash
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"We scored in the right moment. In the second half after five or six minutes we found the game.
"Then we were continually in ther half and took control of the game. Before that we had to make some changes. The routines fell away.
"We had chances but we allowed them to create some chances. We should avoid that.
"Every win is important. We take it 24 hours and then we move on.
"Fantastic games coming up. This team, what they showed today, that’s great.
Marcus Rashford struggled to impose himself as Man Utd narrowly beat Nottingham Forest
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"They have to show it every game. I’ve seen it the last couple of months, not on Saturday.
"We found the way to win.
"We were consistent. We lost one time in 2024. We are consistent.
"It’s not so easy when you have the whole backline and we have to shuffle and play players in different positions. I’m very proud we did it."
