Ten Hag axes Rashford after 'discipline' warning

Tom Weber

• 21 Sept 2024 17:20 BST
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag has dropped Marcus Rashford for Manchester United's fixture with Crystal Palace after imploring him to be 'disciplined.'

The Red Devils are a team in form after back-to-back victories following the international break. Man Utd defeated Southampton 3-0 after an early scare and then demolished Barnsley 7-0 in the Carabao Cup midweek.

Marcus Rashford has been a key player in this mini run of form, scoring against the Saints before notching a brace and an assist against the League One side.

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The 26-year-old is coming off a dire season and is determined to put things right this term. Those close to him recently lashed out at his critics and he is proving on the pitch that he is still a very capable player.

Despite this, Rashford has been dropped by Erik ten Hag for Man Utd's clash with Crystal Palace.

Ten Hag warns Rashford

In the wake of Rashford's good form, Ten Hag has been quick to hammer home that the winger needs to perform in every game and not just against teams like Southampton and Barnsley.

Moreover, ahead of the Palace outing, he urged Rashford to be 'disciplined' in his day-to-day life after he made negative headlines last season with his off-field antics.

"I think he always knew, and every player knows, because when your lifestyle is not right you can't perform," Ten Hag said. "You don't get the right levels when you don't have a good and disciplined life away from Carrington."

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"Probably he needed some help, by backing him for instance. At the end of the day, he has to do it by himself. He has to set his life right, his training attitude right, his match attitude right. When he sets his professionalism, he will perform because he is a class player."

However, Ten Hag insists that he has dropped Rashford against Palace purely due to a desire to rotate his team. "It was not difficult [to drop him] because we need to rotate.

"Because we have many games to cover and we have to give Alejandro [Garnacho] games - and as we have all seen, he has such a lot of end product, scored so many goals, so many assists, but often as a sub. Also needs starts - he's had just one start this season."