Ruben Amorim has warned Marcus Rashford that he will remain sidelined until he begins to meet the standards expected of a Manchester United player.
Rashford has been dropped from the squad for the last three matches against Manchester City, Tottenham, and Bournemouth.
Amorim suggested that his omission is due to performances in training, rather than the interview in which Rashford stated he wanted to leave the club. The United head coach confirmed he is happy to leave the 27-year-old on the sidelines until the issue is resolved.
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“When I feel that it is the right moment I will change something until then I will continue to think about what is the best for the team,” Amorim said when asked about Rashford’s situation.
“I speak with him every day, not about the interview but about the performance.
“It’s my decision. He wants to play. He is trying. It’s my decision, only my decision. I’m trying to do things my way. And 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’m doing.”
After consecutive defeats to Tottenham and Bournemouth, United will face Wolves on Boxing Day.
When asked what Rashford must do to earn a place in the squad for the trip to Molineux, Amorim said: “Be the best that he can be.
“If you have big talents, big performance, big responsibility, big engagement, push forward everybody in this moment. And 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 for every player on the team.”
Amorim’s press conferences have been dominated by questions about Rashford since his exclusion from the squad for the Manchester derby.
However, he insisted that the England forward is not becoming a distraction, particularly because players and staff “understand” his stance.
“It’s not [a distraction] for me,” said Amorim.
“Not for the other players because everybody is there every day during training, they understand. That is the key point. 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 it’s not a distraction for us, maybe it’s for the media but that is not my concern.”
