Gary Neville has challenged ‘moping’ Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho to ‘come back stronger’ after their Manchester derby snub.
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim made a bold call to leave both of his star wingers out of his matchday squad entirely for the trip to Manchester United.
In the end Amorim was vindicated as United produced a stunning come-from-behind win in the final moments to defeat City 2-1 to make it eight defeats in 11 games for their local rivals.
But the talking point post match remained on the axing of Rashford and Garnacho and Neville believes the decision to leave both out was the right one.
‘I don’t know about their long term future,’ Neville told Sky Sports, ‘but what is really clear is that [Amorim] mentioned engaging with team-mates, he’s mentioned standards. He’s giving us clues, in fact, emphatic clues, about the last few days that they’re moping and not doing their bit around the training ground.
‘It’s standards in training and he’s thought “no, I’m not having it, I’m not accepting it”. Good on him.
Alejandro Garnacho (left) and Marcus Rashford (middle) cannot ‘mope’ about being left out
Gary Neville praised United head coach Ruben Amorim for his decisiveness with his decisions
Neville thinks that Amorim has sent a message to the dressing room by leaving two stars out
‘For far too long we’ve seen players mope around that pitch and still continue to get a game or on the bench. No. It’s got to be non-negotiable. If you don’t give your all in your job, you’re gone, you’re out. That’s it.’
Rashford watched from home and has since broken his silence on his Instagram page, while Garnacho has remained tight-lipped on his social media about being left out.
Amorim made it plain that standards need to be met and any player that falls below them will not be tolerated.
But Neville does not think that being left out of the derby is the end of the road for the two players.
‘We’ve been sat in this studio for years as ex-Man United players saying “give your absolute all” and players haven’t been running back,’ he continued.
‘We’ve seen Rashford and Garnacho stand on that left and right wing and not chase back when full-backs have gone past them and still stay on the pitch. No more.
‘I want Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho to come back stronger, take the message that they’ve been given by training at the training ground this morning on a Sunday with no-one else there.
‘I want them to take this in the right spirit and become the very best players for Manchester United.
Rashford cut a frustrated figure on Thursday when he was taken off against Viktoria Plzen
It meant he played no part as Amad Diallo inspired Manchester United to a famous derby win
‘I don’t care who you are, whether you’re Andrei Kanchelskis or Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Nani, whoever you are as a wide player at Manchester United you’ve got to run this way [forward] as fast as you can and run that way [backwards] as fast as you can.
‘They have got the talent, they’ve got the ability, but if they don’t do that there is no place for you in the club, there is no place for you in the team.’
Fellow Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards claimed that he feels Rashford can be used too often as a ‘scapegoat’ at Manchester United, a verdict that both Neville and Roy Keane disagreed with.
The two former United players believe pressure is a privilege as a star player and more is demanded of the likes of Rashford, who earns in the region of £325,000 a week.
For Keane the decision to leave them out, had it been him as a player, would leave a mark.
‘If a manager mentioned that about you as a player after the match and gave those little signals about why you’ve been left out of a first team squad, not on the bench in a big game, a derby game against Man City, and you heard these noises coming out about what he may think about you you’d be ashamed of your life,’ the former United captain said.
‘To come out with these noises that they were training this morning, training at the training ground, they have to keep on top of their fitness. He knows what he is doing this manager. Amorim is a smart cookie and he’s got a bit of power now.
‘Those players at home must be sitting there thinking “good god, I’m embarrassed, that’s what he’s saying about me”.
Amorim intimated that the two star attackers had not met the required standards in training
Rashford celebrated Amad Diallo’s 90th-minute winner against Manchester City from home
‘He’s had to make big decisions, that’s what he’s done. His eyes don’t lie to him.’
Eyes will now be on Thursday night and United’s Carabao Cup quarter-final at Tottenham where another no-show in the squad for either player would raise eyebrows about their long-term future.
Neither player is seen as untouchable as United look to generate funds to allow Amorim to transform the playing squad.
United are under pressure to generate those funds as they are struggling to comply with PSR rules having posted losses of £300m over the last three years. Rashford, in particular, has emerged as a prime candidate for sale.
After spending another £200m on transfers last summer, United did not budget on having to pay out an additional £21.4m to replace Erik ten Hag with Amorim.
That means that United would consider offers of £40m for Rashford – but accept there are unlikely to be any bidders for the England forward in the January transfer window.
Selling homegrown players counts as 100 per cent profit on the PSR balance sheet, and for some time now the spotlight has fallen on Rashford who has been at the club since the age of seven.
It’s understood the 27-year-old’s asking price would have been as much as £100m when he scored 30 goals in Ten Hag’s first season at United.
But Rashford’s loss of form and the contract he signed last year worth a prohibitive £325,000-a-week means that his value has more than halved.
