Under-fire Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has labelled Marcus Rashford's birthday party after defeat in the Manchester derby "unacceptable", and says the forward has since apologised.
Rashford attended a pre-organised celebration with friends in a private area of the Chinawhite nightclub shortly after playing 86 minutes in United's humiliating 3-0 loss to Manchester City. He arrived for training on time the next day, but was subject to scrutiny and supporters' irritation once the story broke.
Speaking to the press before United's clash with Fulham today, Ten Hag said: "I am aware of it and I spoke with him about it. It is unacceptable. I told him. He apologised and that is it."
Ten Hag wouldn't disclose whether Rashford had been fined – calling it "an internal matter" – but denied he benched the forward in a midweek Carabao Cup game as punishment.
It wouldn't be Ten Hag’s first time sanctioning Rashford, having dropped the No.10 before a fixture at Molineux after he arrived late to a team meeting.
Following a string of poor results and growing pressure on his shoulders, Ten Hag was asked if he's struggling to land his message among the players – namely Rashford.
"Your suggestion is not right," he said. "He's very motivated to put things right. He's totally with us.
"So he makes a mistake, but that doesn’t say he's not fitting in. I see him every day in training, what he's doing. I know. Also off the pitch, how he lives."
Rashford has netted just once so far this season – against Arsenal in September – following a career-high 30 goals in 2022/23. His performances are consistent with other members of the team.
Now, The Telegraph report that players are starting to question Ten Hag's ruthless approach. Stripping Harry Maguire of the captaincy and exiling Jadon Sancho from the squad highlight the manager's no-nonsense approach, with both players having publicly aired their grievances about the decisions.
But the question of whether Rashford should have gone out or gone home after the derby seems to have divided opinion.
Former Brighton and Palace forward Glenn Murray recently told FourFourTwo how sticking with plans after a defeat or poor performance can improve a player's psychology. He said: "As a youngster playing in League Two, I felt the pressure of wanting to score goals and be successful, and if I missed a couple of opportunities I'd beat myself up quite badly.
"I spoke to [a sports psychologist] who said, 'Right, I want you to flip everything. If you score, keep doing what you've planned, but if you've had a bad game, deliberately plan something else: get out of the house'; It made a huge difference to me."
The move to condemn Rashford, therefore, could be another risky gamble from Ten Hag.
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