Marcus Rashford’s campaign to prompt a government u-turn on free school meal vouchers for needy children in the UK is important, according to his Manchester United manager Old Gunnar Solskjaer.
Manchester-born Rashford has received widespread praise after writing an open letter to the government asking it to reconsider its decision to not issue vouchers outside term time.
“What he has done is more important than anything he has done on the pitch,’’ he said of the 22-year-old.
“As his manager, it’s been fantastic to follow Marcus during the lockdown period.
“It’s not just that he got the (UK) Prime Minister to change his mind, but also what he’s done over the last few months.
“He’s changed the lives of so many kids this summer, which is more important than any game of football he will probably have ever played.
“So, hopefully he can keep both sides going as well as he’s doing now,” Solskjaer said in a virtual news conference on Thursday.
Rashford’s campaign to help children over what will be an extraordinarily long summer holiday, caused because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, drew government’s attention on Tuesday.
It was forced to announce a COVID-19 summer food fund costing around 120 million pounds (150 million dollars).
The England forward has even been tipped to win BBC’s coveted Sport’s Personality of the Year award, but Solskjaer said Rashford was not seeking praise.
“I don’t think Marcus is thinking about this politically.
“And using his position as a role model, a Manchester United player, a top player, he can effect people in a good way, it’s not about him or anything bigger than that.
“He’s always been a good lad and the change he’s made for kids has been unbelievable,” the Manchester United manager said.
Solskjaer confirmed that Rashford and Paul Pogba would both be available for Friday’s English Premier League (EPL) trip to Tottenham Hotspur, having recovered from injuries during the lockdown.
He expressed a note of caution though.
“They’re available, but `for how long they are going to play?’, let’s see.
“The Premier League is intense physically and they are going straight into another season after.
“But it’s a good option to protect the players and not pick up any unnecessary injuries,” Solskjaer said.
Manchester United were in impressive form before the Premier League shut down three months ago and are in fifth place, three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
