Marcus Rashford transfer: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim says he would rather bench goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital than England striker | Football News

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has given Marcus Rashford a damning public dressing down – claiming he would rather bench the club’s 63-year-old goalkeeping coach than the striker for effort.

Rashford was once again left out of United’s matchday 1-0 win over Fulham, in which Amorim’s side scored through Lisandro Martinez’s deflection – their only shot on target.

The England international has not been part of United’s Premier League matchday squad for almost two months and Amorim says Rashford does not express his “give it your all every day” attitude.

With just a week to go until the January transfer window closes, Amorim said “if things don’t change, I won’t change” regarding Rashford’s situation in United’s squad.

“It’s always the same reason: training, the way I see a footballer do in life. It’s every day, every detail,” Amorim told the post-match press conference at Craven Cottage about why Rashford was unavailable .

“If things don’t change, I won’t change. It’s the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player.

“You can see our bench lacks a bit of pace on the bench. But I would put (Man Utd goalkeeping coach Jorge) Vital ahead of a player who doesn’t give his maximum every day.”

Later on Sunday, Rashford posted a ‘well done’ message on his Instagram story, congratulating his team-mates on their win.

United goalkeeping coach Vital, who joined Old Trafford alongside Amorim from Sporting CP in November, is 63.

Amorim: Manchester United lack pace and power up front, we have problems scoring goals

Amorim’s comments about Rashford came after the United boss admitted his side still struggle to score goals this season – and that his side lack “pace and power up front”.

At Craven Cottage on Sunday, United had to wait 42 minutes for their first shot on target – a tame half chance from Matthijs de Ligt – and also failed to score from open play in the first half for the 12th straight Premier League game .

With Rasmus Hojlund taken off near the hour mark after a minor impact and his replacement Joshua Zirkzee touching the ball just eight times in the remaining half hour, Amorim admits there is room for improvement in his forward line.

Asked if scoring goals is a problem for his team, Amorim said TNT Sports: “I think so. Even in the second half we wanted to change something, we lack a bit of pace and power up front.

“But it is what it is. We have to have ball creators, more chances. We struggle a lot in those details. But the win helps a lot to improve.”

Asked if he expects any extra help from the remaining week of the transfer window, Amorim replied: “We have to be careful. Even the rules here, we have to follow the rules.

“We’ve made (transfer) mistakes in the past, we can’t do that now. We’re focused on improving the squad, so we’ll see. Let’s focus on the players we have and focus on the next game.”

Amorim is unsure about Garnacho’s future

Amorim also remained tight-lipped over the future of Alejandro Garnazzo, who started in the win over Fulham before coming off United’s winner.

Garnazzo has been the subject of interest from Napoli and Chelsea, with United tempted to sell the academy graduate to raise ‘net profit’ funds to help comply with the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

“No one knows. Anything can happen,” Amorim said of whether Garnacho could leave before the Feb. 3 deadline.

“It’s getting better in every part of the game, the way they recover, the understanding of the game when they defend.

“I’m trying to find the best position for him, today he played a little more open, not so inside. We need the guys one-on-one, but I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Analysis: A feeling of victory – but United’s problems are still visible

Sky Sports’ Pete Smith at Craven Cottage:

Amorim had stressed the importance of result over performance ahead of Man Utd’s 1-0 win at Fulham and his hope of being the impetus to pick up three points on the road can boost his side.

They certainly looked like they needed one for most of this match. United’s caution was clear as they defended in numbers and looked for the safe option in possession. It was notable before the game that Fulham had been tipped as favorites – and the visitors played up to their underdogs.

This result will not hide the problems that Amorim needs to solve. He noted the lack of drive in the final third and question marks over both Hojlund and his replacement Zirkzee remain.

Garnacho, a player they could well sell before the deadline, looked the most likely to provide a spark amid an otherwise uninspiring attack. Fulham, despite their poor attacking record, almost exposed this well-documented United weakness late on.

However, with a Europa League trip to Bucharest on Thursday followed by home games against Crystal Palace and then Leicester in the FA Cup, there may be an opportunity for United to build some positive momentum to improve their short-term outlook. The bigger picture remains an important work in progress.