Ruben Amorim: Man Utd a better team with Marcus Rashford – but he has to change
The 27-year-old trained with his team-mates on Wednesday but was omitted from the 21-man squad travelling to Romania.
Ruben Amorim admits Manchester United need a player like Marcus Rashford but says the forward “has to change” and meet his standards to have a future at Old Trafford.
Seven speculation-filled weeks have passed since the 27-year-old last played for his boyhood club in the Europa League trip to Viktoria Plzen.
Rashford’s wait for an appearance continues when United head to the continent for the first time since then to round off the new-look group phase away to FCSB on Thursday.
The forward trained with his team-mates on the eve of the match but was omitted from the 21-man squad seeking to avoid a play-off tie and secure a last-16 spot in Romania.
“Again, guys, the situation is the same for every player,” Amorim said as Wednesday night’s pre-match press conference started with a question about Rashford.
“The last time I talked about that in the last game (against Fulham on Sunday), my sentence was that I will not put (in) any player that don’t give the maximum.
“I didn’t say I will not put Marcus Rashford (in), so it’s the same situation.
“When I feel that it is the right moment, I will put any player to play and, I will say it again, we are a better team with Marcus Rashford. And that is clear – he is a big talent.
“But until the right moment, I will not change my mind. That’s all, and it’s always the same answer.”
Amorim continued to be pressed about Rashford in Bucharest as Monday’s transfer deadline edges closer.
The England international last month revealed he was “ready for a new challenge”, but few clubs offer an obvious landing spot thanks in no small part to his wages.
“You can look at our team and imagine the profile of the players,” said Amorim, who was unaware of reports of Barcelona making a loan approach for Rashford.
“Now imagine a talent like Rashford. Our team should be so much better with Rashford, but he has to change. If he (does) change, we are more than welcome to put a talent like Rashford (in), and we need it.
“But in this moment I think it’s really clear that we have to set some standards. That’s all. We are waiting for Marcus if he wants (it) really, really bad. That’s the only thing.
“You try to make like something personally (is behind it). It’s not. I have nothing against Marcus.
“I just have to make the same rules for everybody, and that, for me, is so simple. It’s always the same answer.”
Exasperated Amorim laughed as he dealt with questions about Rashford at a time when he is focused on United’s bid to avoid next month’s play-offs.
A top-eight finish is needed to progress straight to the last 16, but the fourth-placed Red Devils face a tough night at the sold-out Arena Nationala against an FCSB side sat eighth in the 36-team standings.
Avoiding the play-offs would provide Amorim the training time he has craved since arriving in November.
“It’s always important (to win),” the United head coach said. “Just the feeling of winning is really important.
“The first thing is to win the game. We need to improve our performance. We need to see our players perform and to understand in each position they are better to play, so we have a lot to improve.
“We have to use every game, every training to see that.”
