Erik ten Hag says both he and Marcus Rashford are not happy with the Manchester United forward’s form this season – but the United boss is confident that his striker will return to scoring goals soon.

Rashford, who scored 30 goals in all competitions last season – has scored just once since the start of the season, with United enduring their worst start to a campaign since 1974, after nine defeats in the opening 17 games.

Going into Saturday’s home match against Luton, Rashford has the worst negative Expected Goals (xG) differential out of any Premier League player this season – demonstrating the 26-year-old’s wastefulness in front of goal.

The England international was also sent off in the first half of Wednesday’s 4-3 Champions League defeat to FC Copenhagen.

“I think he’s not happy, we are not happy. We have expectations, he has high expectations of himself,” Ten Hag said about Rashford’s start to this season.

“At this moment, he is not in his best form. But I know he will be back. I know when the team is playing better, he will play better, he will score goals. I am confident of that.

“That can happen very quickly. Sometimes you need only one game, I’m sure he will get there.”

United go into the home game at newly-promoted Luton having lost three out of their last four games – and on a run of two straight home defeats – but Ten Hag was adamant that his side can respond to setbacks.

“We are very disappointed to lose any game but finally it’s about the end result,” says Ten Hag. “It’s always about a process, thinking about a process and managing the process. That’s the only thing I focus on.

“We often proved that we can, like [in the recent wins against] Fulham at Brentford, overcome big setbacks.”