Manchester United are set to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing day on the back of consecutive defeats where the club has conceded seven goals.
Wolves, though languishing in the relegation zone, enjoyed a new manager bounce and thrashed Leicester City at the weekend and as expected, they will be up for the game at the Molineux Stadium.
It is a hugely important game for the Red Devils but the media did not seem to care as most of the questions Ruben Amorim had to face during the pre-match press conference centred around the future of Marcus Rashford.
The Mancunian has been dropped for three games in a row and has since come out and publicly acknowledged his desire to leave his boyhood club.
Rashford absence to continue?
When asked whether he could feature against the team from West Midlands, Amorim did not give a straight answer but hinted that the forward will continue to remain on the sidelined.
“When I feel that it is the right moment, I will change something. Until then, I will continue to think what is the best for the team.”
When pressed further on whether the pair had spoken regarding that infamous interview, the head coach said, “I speak with them every day. Not about the interview, about the performance.
“I spoke with a lot of players individually during training so I’m trying to do things. I try now doing things my way. It’s the only way I know. If I don’t do that, I will lose myself and I will not lose myself. I know what I am doing.”
As seen from the media’s obsession with the issue and the number of articles being printed about Rashford, there is a danger of it becoming a distraction with the dressing room reportedly not too pleased with the timing of the interview.
But Amorim has played down such thoughts. “No, I don’t think so. Not for me, not for the other players, because everybody is there every day during training so they understand and that is the key point.
Rashford issue becoming a distraction for players?
“For the media and for the other people, I cannot control that but I’m really focused and they know I’m so clear in my message, everybody in Carrington knows what I’m talking about and what I want from Marcus and everybody else. So, he’s not a distraction for us. Maybe it’s for the media but that is not my concern.”
He also outlined what he wanted to see from Rashford and all the other big-name stars who have been at the club for a long time in order to steer the club out of the bottom half of the table.
“Like any other player, the best that they can be. If you have big talent, big performance, big responsibility, big engagement, like push forward everybody.
“In this moment some guys have a big responsibility here because they are here for a long time. So, this is maybe one of the lowest moments in our club so we have to face it and be strong in this moment – that’s what I want from every player in the team.”
Amorim has not been afraid to rotate his squad for game to game and as seen from the defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and the Bournemouth, things have not always worked out.
But the Portuguese backed his approach and revealed that changes were not only because he wants to give players a chance but also to avoid injuries, something predecessor Erik ten Hag suffered from a lot.
Rotation or plan to avoid injury
“No, but in this moment, it’s not rotation to see the players and prepare the future, it’s simply to not have injuries. Matta [Matthijs de Ligt] is sick.
“Harry Maguire did 90 minutes against [Manchester] City and cannot play three days before because in three months he only did 90 minutes one time against City, so we have to rotate him during the week and, today, he is playing.
“Kobbie Mainoo played, he returned from injury, so I have to think if he’s ready to cope with both games so sometimes I have to play two games at the same moment. Rasmus [Hojlund] played two games, the third game today I think we needed fresh legs.
“So, we are trying to address everything. I just want to win games because I know that there’s a long-term project and we are focused on that. But I also know that in big clubs you don’t have a lot of time, and you have to win games.
“So, I have a clear idea of the responsibility I have here but I’m trying to manage this team to not have injuries. If we have injuries, it’s a massive problem in trying to win games and manage all the players so I’m not rotating to see the future. I just want to win games and not have injuries. If we have injuries, it’s a big problem.”
Feature image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
