United ´more than capable´ of challenging for title – Rashford

Manchester United’s squad is “more than capable” of challenging for the Premier League title, according to Marcus Rashford.

United are seventh in the table after playing six matches of the 2016-17 league campaign, having made an inconsistent start to life under new manager Jose Mourinho.

They will be expected to win at home to struggling Stoke on Sunday but could face a tough task keeping pace with Pep Guardiola’s slick Manchester City.

“We have a squad that can challenge for the title and other trophies, so that’s the priority, given what the club has been through over the last few years,” Rashford told the Sun.

A revelation when he burst onto the scene last term and still only 18, the exciting forward did not expect to be part of the team charged with winning a first league title since 2012-13, Alex Ferguson’s last season in charge at Old Trafford.

“When the transition started, I was with the Under-15s,” he said.

“Now I know I have to be part of trying to turn things around. But it’s something the squad is more than capable of.”

While United’s academy has been less fruitful in recent years compared to the bumper crop produced early in Ferguson’s tenure, Rashford feels the club’s famed youth set-up has equipped him to thrive at the highest level.

“I know it could break some players, but in football you just have to be mentally strong,” he said.

“It’s one of the big components that you need to be successful.

“That is something that is instilled in you here. That winning mentality. They teach you from when you’re very young, so when you get to the first team you don’t have to change your mentality.”