Marcus Rashford has called for the “mad” football calendar to be reconsidered by authorities.
After a gruelling campaign for Manchester United, Rashford is expected to play his 62nd match of the season when England face Malta and North Macedonia in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Throughout the season United played almost every midweek in the first half of the season to accommodate the World Cup in Qatar, and Rashford believes there should be more breaks in the schedule.
Rashford said (via Evening Standard): “To be honest, that is evident. It is mad that we are playing at club level against teams playing one game a week and we are playing three a week from November until we get knocked out of the Europa League.
“It is difficult and we are used to it but I don’t think it’s right. I am not the one who has to have the answers. If one team is playing 60 games a season and another is playing 38 there has to be some time to recover for the team playing 20 extra games.”
However, Rashford does not believe it should be down to the players to make a stand.
“The players are going to push ourselves to the absolute limits,” he added ahead of the announcement of next season’s fixtures. “It is nothing new, it is not a complaint or a dig, I am just giving my honest opinion that I don’t think it is correct.
“We need to be given more time to recover between different games and at different stages of the season, as well. I don’t think it is down to the players, we shouldn’t have to speak out about something we’re not in control of. We’re not going to make the final decision.”
Ally McCoist has hit back at Rashford’s complaints, claiming the Manchester United star needs to ‘get on with it’.
Speaking to talkSPORT, McCoist said: “You play games. Nothing has changed. There are a couple of Cups and a couple of internationals.
“I get it and I guess the only difference is the intensity is a probably higher, but we’ve played 30 league games for years. There’s always a league Cup, always an FA Cup.
“Also the squads are bigger these days, far bigger. You get paid a lot more money so Marcus [Rashford], get on with it!”
“Marcus, get on with it!” 👊🙄
“You’re getting paid a lot more money. The squads are bigger nowadays, far bigger!”
Ally McCoist hits back at Marcus Rashford for complaining about his club schedule. 😳 pic.twitter.com/QTFX8dfCnc
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 14, 2023
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