Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has insisted that Marcus Rashford must show he “really wants it” before regaining his place back in the team.
Rashford’s United future has been the subject of intense speculation over the past few weeks.
It has been suggested that United are open to offers for the forward as early as this month. Rashford added fuel to the fire in an interview just before Christmas, in which he admitted to being ready to depart Old Trafford in search of a fresh adventure.
The England international was left out of four consecutive matchday squads before he was recalled for last Monday’s meeting with Newcastle.
He was an unused substitute as the Red Devils suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of the Magpies.
Amorim sat down with Sky Sports and said about Rashford, “I already spoke a lot about Marcus, it depends more on him than on me.”
“He has to want it really, really bad. He’s here, he’s in our squad so he’s our player and he’s ready to play if I decide.”
On why Rashford didn’t play at all vs. Newcastle, Amorim remarked, “In that moment, I was really focused on trying to turn things around, to score one goal to open the game. And I chose, for example, Garna[cho] to do the job.”
“I was not focused on the idea that I put Marcus on or not because he was away for four games. It was not that. If he’s there, he’s ready to play but I chose Garnacho.”
Amorim doubled down on his previous statements that United are currently in a fight to avoid relegation.
“I think it’s important to be really clear with the fans and especially with the players. If you look at the table, we are closer to the relegation than the first place. I’m not looking at the table at the moment.”
“That [relegation] is a possibility, but I’m not thinking about that, I just want to look at the next game. I just think it’s really, really important to be really clear with the players and the supporters.”
United are back in action on Sunday when they face table leaders Liverpool at Anfield.
Featured image Nathan Stirk via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
