Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has given a damning public dressing down of Marcus Rashford – claiming he would rather put the club’s goalkeeper coach on the bench than the forward due to effort.
Rashford was once again left out of United’s matchday squad for the 1-0 win over Fulham, in which Amorim’s side scored through Lisandro Martinez’s deflected strike – their only shot on target.
The England international has not been in a Premier League matchday squad for United in nearly two months and Amorim says Rashford is not giving off the attitude of someone “giving the maximum every day”.
With one week to go until the January transfer window closes, Amorim said “if things don’t change, I will not change” with regards to Rashford’s status in the United squad.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Fulham’s match against Manchester United in the Premier League
“It’s always the same reason: the training, the way I see a footballer should do in life. It’s every day, every detail,” said Amorim in his post-match press conference at Craven Cottage about why Rashford was not available.
“If things don’t change, I will not change. It’s the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player.
“You can see on the bench we miss a bit of pace on the bench. But I would put [Man Utd goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day.”
Later on Sunday, Rashford posted a ‘well done’ message on his Instagram story, congratulating his team-mates on their win.
Man Utd’s goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital is 63 years old
United goalkeeper coach Vital, who moved to Old Trafford alongside Amorim from Sporting CP in November, is 63 years old.
Amorim: Man Utd lack pace and power up front, we have issue scoring goals
Rasmus Hojlund struggled to make an impact at Fulham
Amorim’s comments on Rashford came after the United boss admitted his team still have a problem scoring goals this season – and that his squad lacks “pace and power up front”.
At Craven Cottage on Sunday, United had to wait 42 minutes for their first shot at goal – a tame Matthijs de Ligt half chance – and also failed to score from open play in the first half for the 12th Premier League match in a row.
With Rasmus Hojlund taken off close to the hour mark after making little impact and his replacement Joshua Zirkzee touching the ball just eight times in the remaining half an hour, Amorim admits there is room for improvement in his forward line.
Asked if scoring goals is a problem for his team, Amorim told TNT Sports: “I think so. Even in the second half we wanted to change something, we lack some pace and power up front.
“But it is what it is. We need to have ball creators, more chances. We struggle a lot in these details. But winning helps a lot to improve.”
Asked if he expects any extra help from the remaining week of the transfer window, Amorim replied: “We have to be cautious. Even the rules here, we have to follow the rules.
“We did [transfer] mistakes in the past, we can’t do it now. We are focused on improving the team, let’s see. Let’s focus on the players we have and focus on the next game.”
Amorim unsure of Garnacho future
Alejandro Garnacho (right) may not be at Man Utd after the transfer deadline
Amorim also remained coy on the future of Alejandro Garnacho, who started in the win over Fulham before coming off after United’s winner.
Garnacho has been the subject of interest from Napoli and Chelsea, with United potentially tempted to sell the academy graduate to raise ‘pure profit’ funds to help their Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) compliance.
“Nobody knows. Anything can happen,” said Amorim on whether Garnacho could leave before the deadline on February 3.
“He’s improving in every department of the game, the way they recover, the understanding of the game when they defend.
“I’m trying to find the best position for him, today he played a little more open, not so much inside. We need the guys one against one but I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Analysis: A winning feeling – but United’s problems still plain to see
Lisandro Martinez celebrates scoring Manchester United’s winner against Fulham
Sky Sports’ Pete Smith at Craven Cottage:
Amorim had stressed the importance of the result over the performance before Man Utd’s 1-0 victory at Fulham and his hope will be the momentum of picking up three points on the road can give his side a boost.
They certainly looked like they needed one during the majority of this match. United’s caution was plain to see as they defended in numbers and looked for the safe option in possession. It was notable before the game that Fulham had been listed as favourites – and the visitors played up to their underdog tag.
This result won’t mask the problems Amorim has to solve. He himself noted the lack of thrust in the final third and the question marks over both Hojlund and his replacement Zirkzee remain.
Garnacho, a player they could well sell before the deadline, looked the most likely to provide a spark amid an otherwise uninspiring attack. Fulham, despite a poor attacking set-piece record themselves, almost exposed that well-documented United weakness late on.
Yet, with a Europa League trip to Bucharest on Thursday followed by home games against Crystal Palace and then Leicester in the FA Cup, perhaps there is a chance for United to build some positive rhythm to improve their short-term outlook. The bigger picture remains a major work in progress.
