Marcus Rashford has been warned by former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand that he has to start accepting more accountability for his conduct after missing the FA Cup fourth-round victory over Newport County.
Rashford missed their last training before the game on Friday, therefore he was left out of Erik ten Hag’s team that traveled to South Wales over the weekend.
After being recorded out in Belfast one evening last week, the 26-year-old stated that he was too sick to train.
Although Rashford is alleged to have been photographed socialising on Thursday night, United has stated that they were told the image was from Wednesday night.
When Erik ten Hag was asked about Rashford, he said: “In what sense? So he reported ill, for the rest it’s an internal matter, I deal with it. As I said, it’s an internal matter. For you (it raises more questions than answers), but not for me. It’s an internal matter, I will deal with it.”
Ferdinand thinks the circumstances indicate a problem at the club.
“The way the manager answered the question, he flatlined it as if to say, ‘I’m dealing with this behind the scenes’. So something’s not right,” he said on his Rio Ferdinand Presents LIVE.
“You can’t judge it against my era because we were winning everything so you’re going to get grace on a lot of things. You have to have that self awareness. ‘Am I putting myself into a situation where people can pick at me?’
“If you’re going to go in for a Friday training session and arrive back that morning, if you’re talking about elite sportsmen, is that the right prep? I’d say no. Already there, you’re at a disadvantage. My point is the way the manager responded to the question tells me that he’s not happy with what’s happened. He’s gone outside of the boundaries that have been set.
“The club’s all over the place. There’s a lot of noise around the club. You’re one of the experienced players now, keep that noise down, that’s your duty. You’re one of the leaders now, like it or not.
“You’ve got to be aware enough that when you’re not doing well as a club and team and you’re not hitting the standards we know you’re about personally, you’ve got to be aware.”
