Ole comes out fighting: Solskjaer hits out at 'making headlines out of one little comment' over his suggestion that Marcus Rashford must 'prioritise football', which 'left the Man United star's camp unhappy' 

• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently told Marcus Rashford to focus on his football
• The United boss's remarks reportedly left those in Rashford's camp unhappy
• Solskjaer has now hit out at the reaction to the comments he made last week 

Manchester United are 'incredibly proud' of Marcus Rashford's charity work and there is no suggestion it has been a distraction from his playing career, insists manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Solskjaer made headlines before Rashford's goal-scoring return from shoulder surgery at Leicester on Saturday when he praised the player's campaign to fight child food poverty but told him 'to maybe prioritise his football and focus on football'.

Rashford has received widespread acclaim for his charity efforts and been awarded an MBE and an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.

It's understood that Solskjaer has spoken to Rashford to clarify his comments, and he took the opportunity to address the issue before his press conference for Wednesday's Champions League group tie at home to Atalanta with the 23-year-old England international sat alongside him.

The United boss explained that he meant to say Rashford can focus on football after struggling with injury in recent seasons.

'Let's get the elephant out of the room straightway,' said the United boss. 'You know the headlines that came out of the chat I had before the Leicester game.

'Of course, we are so unbelievably proud of what Marcus has done on and off the pitch. I was saying about Marcus and how it must be nice for the boy to focus on going into training and not feeling his ankle or his shoulder or his back. Now he can just go and enjoy his football.

'Just so there are no more questions on that one or even ask Marcus about it. I just wanted to start with that one and get it out of the way.'

Rashford was reluctant to discuss his injury problems and more concerned with getting United back on track after a run of four defeats in the last seven games.

'To be honest, I don't need to speak about that, it's in the past,' he said. 'I just want to look forward now and be the best player I can be. A lot of my focus now is purely on the next game.

'As players, we want silverware and the staff as well, everyone wants to win trophies. But there's steps that you have to take to get there and you don't just win trophies overnight.

'We have been on this journey for a while now and come close a lot of times, and we have to find the difference between coming close and getting our hands on trophies. It's the next game that counts we want to move ourselves forward.'