Erik ten Hag stated that he will address the situation with Marcus Rashford, who was left out of Manchester United’s squad for their 4-2 win against Newport County in the FA Cup. This was due to an “internal matter,” which raises concerns about discipline within the team.
Rashford reported ill for training on Friday, hours after allegedly being pictured at a nightclub in Belfast. The 26-year-old England striker is reported to have attended Thompsons Garage nightclub on Thursday before flying home by private jet on Friday morning. Rashford travelled to Northern Ireland on Wednesday to visit his former United youth teammate Ro-Shaun Williams, who recently signed for the domestic champions, Larne. Ten Hag ruled Rashford out of his side’s trip to Newport on Friday because of illness.
On Sunday, United announced that Rashford remained at Carrington to train while he recovers. Ten Hag, in response to United’s victory in south Wales, stated that Rashford had reported being ill and the details were being handled within the team. When questioned about the reasoning behind keeping Rashford’s absence internal, Ten Hag declined to provide further explanation, stating that it was a team matter that he would handle.
In November, the manager of United expressed disapproval of Rashford’s decision to go to a nightclub shortly after a 3-0 loss to Manchester City in the derby. At that time, Ten Hag stated that he had a conversation with the English player, who apologized for his behavior. He also mentioned that Rashford is determined to make amends and fully committed to the team.
A few months ago, Ten Hag mentioned that he encountered a negative culture when he started working at United. He had previously let go of Jadon Sancho, who is currently on loan at his former team Borussia Dortmund, due to his subpar performance during training. The Dutch coach has also previously instructed Anthony Martial to train separately.
Rashford has netted four times this season in various competitions, including the last two Premier League games for United against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.
In the previous month, Nicky Butt, a former player and coach at Manchester United, attributed Rashford’s difficulties to the atmosphere at the club. Butt stated that Rashford, a tremendously talented player, is currently not content with his personal life or his performance on the field. He also compared his own experience at the club to Rashford’s, noting that the current changing room environment is not ideal for the young player.
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Rasmus Højlund scored the final goal for United at Rodney Parade in stoppage time after they narrowly avoided a major threat. Early goals from captain Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo, his first at the senior level, gave United the lead, but Newport equalized at 2-2 in the second half. Antony then put United back in the lead before Højlund’s late goal.
Source: theguardian.com
