Andre Onana insists Erik ten Hag is 'big enough to back himself' with his Man United future hanging by a thread... as goalkeeper claims Marcus Rashford is 'one of the best players in the world' despite his struggles

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana believes Erik Ten Hag is big enough to back himself ahead of this weekend's FA Cup Final, as the goalie opened up on his early struggles after Old Trafford move. 

Onana arrived last summer in a high-profile £47m move from Inter Milan, with boss Erik ten Hag set on making the Cameroonian his first-choice goalie at the club. 

However, the 28-year-old struggled in the early portion of the campaign, and a number of costly errors saw some question his arrival in Manchester. 

Yet, speaking to the BBC ahead of this weekend's showpiece against Manchester City, the United stopper admits that it look some time for him to acclimatise to his new surroundings following his summer move. 

'I arrived as the best goalkeeper in the world and 'boom' it went down. It was like 'what happened?',' said Onana. 

'But that is how difficult football is sometimes. It depends if you want to stay down there or stand up and fight.

'I know what I did to arrive here. I know who I am. I decided to stand up and fight.'

It's not the first time the United keeper has admitted that he found his start to life at the club difficult. 

Earlier this season he spoke to ESPN and confessed that it took him six or seven months to feel good, stating: 'It was a difficult time for me. Now I'm feeling a bit better. Everything was new, it was difficult for me to feel at home because of so many reasons; new country. '

Mistakes against like the ones against Bayern Munich that saw United crash out of the Champions League put huge pressure on the goalkeeper, much like his manager, who's future is under huge speculation whatever the outcome on Saturday. 

Onana is someone who knows the manager more than most, having worked with the Dutchman during their time together at Ajax and believes his boss remains confident in his ability to manage United. 

'I'm not here to back him because he's big enough to back himself,' he said.

'But he's a really good guy, a positive coach and tactically he is good.

'If he had all his squad together, it would probably be different for him, for us, the club and the fans.

The Cameroon keeper also had some positive words for teammate Marcus Rashford, after the striker missed on Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 squad this week.

The striker has netted just eight goals this season, compared to the thirty he notched during the 2022-23 campaign. But Onana says that he hasn't become a bad player over night, and backed him to make a difference in the cup final. 

'We are talking about the same player,' Onana added. 

'So now he's a bad player? No. You can have a bad season or a bad start but the most important thing is how you end.

'Rashy, for me, is one of the best players in the world. But he is facing difficulty. It's not only him and me but the whole club.

'But he will come back. I know my killer will score some important goals for us. Hopefully against City he will score two and we win the FA Cup.'