Ruben Amorim doubles down on Marcus Rashford exile after Wolves defeat

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim insisted that Marcus Rashford’s continued exile from the first-team squad will not be impacted by the club’s results.

Another United game brought another omission of Rashford and, as Wolverhampton Wanderers would no doubt gleefully point out, another defeat. The Red Devils were well beaten in a 2-0 loss at Molineux on Boxing Day as Bruno Fernandes was dismissed before goals from Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan.

Rashford was left out for the fourth game in succession. Shortly after getting dropped for the Manchester derby earlier this month, the England international revealed his desire for a “new challenge”. Amorim has not reinstated the forward since, only vaguely explaining his continued absence as a consequence of his behaviour behind the scenes in training.

United snatched a last-minute victory against City without Rashford, but have since been beaten by Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth and most recently Wolves.

As his side are marooned in 14th place with almost half the campaign elapsed, Amorim refused to be influenced by results when it comes to Rashford’s inclusion. If anything, he doubled down on his decision.

“It’s always the same reason it’s going to be,” the Portuguese boss defiantly declared. “We have to be the same professionals, the same guys, winning or losing. Losing, I have to be stronger. I will continue with my idea until the end.”

When asked if Rashford had done anything in training to change Amorim’s mind, the United boss bluntly replied: “If he’s not here, you can make your mind up.”

Suspension rather than selection will rob Amorim of his captain Fernandes for United’s next encounter. After collecting his third red card of the season for two needless yellow cards at Molineux, the skipper will sit out a Premier League visit from Newcastle United on Monday.

Unless he does something dramatic over the next four days, Rashford will likely join Fernandes on the sidelines. As Amorim told BBC’s Match of the Day: “I just do what I think is the best for the team.”