Roy Keane says Marcus Rashford must be “ashamed” by his conduct with his ongoing exclusion from the Manchester United squad showing no sign of being resolved.
Rashford has not played in over six weeks with head coach Ruben Amorim saying on Sunday he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach than a player with Rashford’s attitude.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s Europa League game with Steaua Bucharest, the Portuguese repeated his claim that the England international “has to change” if he wants to work his way back into his plans.
🗣️ “He has to change”
Ruben Amorim discusses the situation with Marcus Rashford if he does not secure a move away from Manchester United 🔴 pic.twitter.com/2mxueRKiT6
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 29, 2025
And former United captain Keane is baffled why Rashford, who claims he wants a “fresh start” away from Old Trafford, is not showing more application in training.
He told the Stick to Football Podcast: “I still can’t understand at any level – whatever’s going on with players leaving, months left on contracts – a player who doesn’t train properly.
“I don’t understand it; you might as well leave me out of this conversation.
“Especially if you think he wants to move, which is more of a reason to train properly so when you go to a new club you’re up to speed and when you leave the club at least you showed a decent attitude. He must be ashamed.”
A deliberate business play – Neville
Rashford has just over four days to secure a move in the January window and Gary Neville believes Amorim’s public criticism is part of a ploy to encourage potential suitors.
Neville said: “I know that Ruben Amorim is honest. I do believe that he wants the money back for Marcus Rashford, he’s said that [about him training] to probably shine a light on him and get him out of the club.
“They’re probably asking Marcus to take a wage cut to leave, they don’t want to subsidise the wages because there is no way a new club will pay him those wages.
“So I suspect it’s a brutal blow on him to say that there is no future here for him, that we need him out. I suspect it’s a business play as well as an honesty play.”
Subject dominates pre-match press conference
Rashford was not included in the squad for the game in Romania tonight but Amorim’s pre-match press conference in Bucharest was again dominated by a player thousands of miles away.
The former Sporting CP boss admitted United would be better with a fit and firing Rashford.
“We are a better team with him, that’s clear, but until the right moment I won’t change my mind,” he said.
“He has to change. If Rashford will change we are more than happy to have Rashford. We need him. But we have to set standards.
“We are waiting for Marcus if he wants. It’s not personal. I have nothing against Marcus but I have to make the same rules for everybody, for me it’s so simple.
“We need goals, we need threat in the final third.”
