Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 'Delighted' with 'Tired' Anthony Martial

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has blamed Anthony Martial's poor scoring form on fatigue and said he's "delighted" with the forward's efforts.

Solskjaer pointed to the fact that Martial has been forced to play a lot of minutes because of Marcus Rashford's injury and said rest is on the way if he needs it, per ESPN FC's Rob Dawson:

"He's giving us everything. He's been asked now to play―I think he's started the last seven games in this month, and he's running probably 20 per cent more than what he did when I came here.

"As a striker, if you don't just get there that split second, that's a big, massive difference, and I've praised him, I've sat down with him and I'm delighted with him, and I know that he's tired, but he's never ever―how do you say it?―dodged a training session.

"He's training, he's available for every game, [I'm] delighted with the boy.

"We'll give him [Martial] more support, give him rest when he deserves it. If he does have that rest, if he plays a little bit less, because he's been asked to play too much as well, especially now when Marcus is injured."

Martial has scored just a single goal in his past six outings across all competitions, and that came in the FA Cup win over League One strugglers Tranmere Rovers.

The 24-year-old's lack of goals has led to some criticism. TalkSport's Jamie O'Hara doesn't think he has enough quality for the Red Devils:

Martial has netted eight goals in the Premier League this season, but he has done his best work when playing alongside Rashford. The England international picked up an injury against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup in January, and Martial has scored once since.

The centre-forward position doesn't come naturally to the former Monaco man, and Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News noted that has been an issue for some time:

Wolves shut out United on Saturday, the team's final match before a two-week winter break. The respite comes at just the right time for Martial, giving him the chance to get some much-needed rest ahead of matches against Chelsea and Club Brugge. It will also give January addition Odion Ighalo the opportunity to get settled at his new club. The Nigerian has a solid track record in the Premier League:

He could claim the striker role if he shows enough in training, allowing Martial to slide back into a slot on the wing.

United went into the break in seventh place in the Premier League. They have scored 36 goals, significantly less than the top three of Liverpool (60), Manchester City (65) and Leicester (54).