Marcus Rashford has revealed a pep talk from the former Manchester United manager José Mourinho helped him become more “savvy” in the penalty area. Rashford received the Football Writers’ Association 2021 tribute award on Thursday and in a wide-ranging interview was asked why United might be perceived to be getting more than their fair share of penalties. The question came in the wake of Jürgen Klopp’s recent comment that United had been given “more penalties in two years than I had in five and a half years” as Liverpool manager, which sparked some irritation at Old Trafford. “As a forward line, we want to go and score goals,” Rashford said in an interview with the FWA. “When you are making runs in behind or you are dribbling with the ball and if you see a challenge coming, you don’t want to get tackled because you are looking at an opportunity to score a goal. There is no way you are going to let somebody take the ball off you, so for me it is just a case of us wanting to score goals and the teams wanting to defend goals – and you know, penalties can happen.” Rashford continued: “But there have been times when we have probably not got penalties. I remember when José was manager, there were five or six times I can remember where I should have had a penalty. José ended up saying to me: ‘If you are not savvy about the way you do it, then you are not going to [get] give[n] it.’ “After that, we started to get a few penalties. It was something that in terms of development you have to learn that and understand it.” Rashford believes the connection he has established with fellow frontmen Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes make United “more dangerous” as they go in search of silverware this season. The trio have been at the forefront of the club’s rise up the Premier League in recent weeks, with United leapfrogging defending champions Liverpool to the top of the table after Tuesday’s 1-0 victory at Burnley. Rashford feels there is even more to come from himself, Martial and Fernandes as an attacking force. “Ultimately we are more dangerous, we can score goals at any time, but we can do much better,” the 23-year-old said on http://www.footballwriters.co.uk. “I believe it is still the start of something which can go on to be an unbelievable connection. The forward line in general which we have - we can play in so many different ways, in different positions with different personnel. “We can just be so strong and for us, that is what is key because if we want to win trophies and win the leagues, then you need versatility. I believe that we have one of the most versatile squads probably in the Premier League, especially going forwards. It is exciting, but it is the beginning of something, we want to keep progressing and keep improving. “We are a team which is still improving, we are in a good run of form, so we have to just try to keep focusing on ourselves and do the best we can do. As long as we do that, you walk off the pitch with no regrets. Rashford was in United’s youth setup when the senior side won their most recent league title under Alex Ferguson in 2012-13. But he believes anything other than silverware would be deemed a failure. “The main aim is to win trophies, as it always has been at this club.”