Amorim: Rashford and Garnacho have to fight for place in Manchester United team

FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim says Rashford and Garnacho have to fight for their place in the team. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.

MARCUS Rashford and young team mate Alejandro Garnacho, were left out of the Manchester United squad by Ruben Amorim for poor training performances with a reminder from the new manager that their club has recently sacked employees.

The Portuguese insisted their omission was NOT a disciplinary issue but, bizarrely, Amorim also cited Rashford’s dress sense for reasons behind the decision.

And in the climate of 250 employees being laid off by new United owner Jim Ratcliffe, Amorim challenged the pair to prove their worth and win back their places.

“It’s important to say why: it was not a disciplinary thing,” he said. “Next week, next game, new life, they are fighting for their places.

“But for me it’s important, the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates, the way you push your teammates.

“Everything is important in our context in the beginning of something when we want to change a lot of things, when people in our club are losing their jobs we have to put the standards really high.

“And for that they have to fight for a place in the team and today the team proved we can leave anyone out of the squad and manage to win if you play together.”

Pressed on Rashford’s situation, Amorim would not go into specifics, despite his strange reference to the player’s “dress.”

“You can dress in a way that I don't like, that I really don't like, but it's not a disciplinary thing,” he said.

“I’m going to say again was not a disciplinary thing, it’s the small details, you can see the games like I see, there are some things that have to change,” he said.

“But it is a new life, it’s not a disciplinary thing, it’s the performance in training, the performance in game and I have to choose players. If it was disciplinary, I would say that here and it will be a bigger problem but it was not that.

“Sometimes I want to improve my players and you understand that for so long, we tried for example with Rash, it does not work. Let’s continue to do the same thing or try something different?

“So it’s as simple as that, if they train well with the talent they have we will be so much better with them. But they have to work hard, they do, today they trained really hard. New week, new life, let’s see.”