Ruben Amorim in conversation with Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola after leaving Marcus Rashford out of his Manchester United squad again
Ruben Amorim in conversation with Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola after leaving Marcus Rashford out of his Manchester United squad again
Gary Neville believes one motive behind Ruben Amorim’s handling of Marcus Rashford could be as an important act of self-preservation.
Rashford has been left out of the Manchester United squad for a third straight match as speculation over the forward’s future continues. New head coach Amorim surprisingly omitted the 27-year-old from the group travelling to Manchester City for last Sunday’s 2-1 derby win.
The United boss cited “selection” reasons for Rashford’s absence, just as he did when leaving the England international out of Thursday’s 4-3 Carabao Cup quarter-final loss at Tottenham. The homegrown forward gave an eye-catching interview in between those matches, saying on Tuesday that he was “ready for a new challenge and the next steps” in his career.
Rashford was again watching from afar as Bournemouth arrived at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon when United indicated he was absent on selection grounds once more. As he addressed Rashford’s continued absence from the squad and was asked about Amorim's handling of the situation, Sky Sports pundits Neville said of the boss: “It’s a case of he’s got to protect himself.”
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The former United defender said: “Something has to change at Manchester United. We’ve been watching a lot of the same players over the last four or five years deliver the same results.
“We’ve talked about culture a number of times. If there are players that aren’t quite fitting in for one reason or another, if they’ve not got enough quality, they have to be let go.
“Ruben Amorim knows now that five managers before him have fallen, and some of those managers have shown faith in these same players, so I think it’s a case of he’s got to protect himself and do the right thing – for the club and himself.”
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Ruben Amorim has left Marcus Rashford out of his squad for a third straight game
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Image:
Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Neville suspects something has “gone wrong” for Rashford to be completely omitted from the squad for three straight games. He added: “It was a surprise last weekend, but obviously now, it’s getting to a point where you leave him out three games on the bounce, something really is obviously going wrong or has gone wrong.
“It’s not looking great for both Marcus's future at the club and for Manchester United keeping him either. I suspect it’s getting to that point in the journey where it looks like it’s an inevitable ending.”
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