Erik ten Hag branded Jamie Redknapp as ‘crazy’ for claiming that the Manchester United boss dropped Marcus Rashford at Crystal Palace because he was unhappy with the player.
Rashford was benched for the goalless draw at Selhurst Park despite scoring three goals in the last two games after Ten Hag stressed the importance of him maintaining the right lifestyle in the build-up to the game.
Redknapp told Sky Sports: ‘It feels like something has gone untoward. Obviously I don’t know the details, but you don’t drop a player that’s just scored two in midweek (against Barnsley) and scored against Southampton.
‘It feels something has happened this week. It’s unusual for a manager to come out and almost out a player by talking about their lifestyle. Sir Alex Ferguson would never do it, whereas Ten Hag will do it on occasions and it’s not always beneficial to the player.’
But Ten Hag hit back accusing Redknapp of not knowing what he is talking about.
Erik ten Hag has hit out at hit out at ‘speculation’ over why he dropped Marcus Rashford against Crystal Palace
Redknapp had claimed that ‘something has happened’ between Ten Hag and Rashford
Ten Hag said that Rashford must ‘set his life right’ to rediscover his best form at United
‘I heard already the speculation (from) some pundits,’ said the United boss. ‘That’s crazy. I would almost say that you as a person you are not okay when you bring such speculation if you don’t know what’s (going) on.
‘This is just rotation. We have many games to cover and more than 11 players, but we have to give all the players their chances if they perform. Finally we will find out and the players who perform better will play more.
‘But this has nothing to do (with Rashford). I am very happy with Marcus with everything – his defending, his offensive part. He scores in this moment, he performs very good. So nothing to do with him being on the bench, just rotation.’
Rashford got his first Premier League goal of the season last weekend with a goal in the 3-0 win against Southampton, before bagging a brace in the 7-0 rout of Barnsley in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
The 26-year-old’s performances dipped alarmingly last term after signing a new £300,00-a-week contract, and he was disciplined by Ten Hag for missing training following a 12-hour tequila bender in Belfast and going nightclubbing after United lost the Manchester derby in October.
Redknapp came back biting after full time in response to Ten Hag’s comments, with United having gained a point at the ground they lost 4-0 at last season.
He said: ‘It is a fascinating one today with Marcus Rashford, we thought he was turning a corner scoring a couple of goals, getting a couple in midweek and one at the weekend.
‘I thought momentum is starting to build and getting that confidence and he gets left out today. There is that little bit of a cloud over him. I don’t think that is ideal for the club because the manager – every single press conference he is having is going to be about Marcus Rashford.
Rashford came on for 30 minutes against Palace but was unable to find the net after good form
Manchester United were held to a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday
Alejandro Garnacho hit the woodwork in the first half as United wasted a host of chances
‘That is something that has to be nipped in the bud and get him back in form and the confidence he was beginning to show.’
‘I can only imagine when he woke up to those headlines, it probably wasn’t enjoyable for him wondering why has the manager bringing that up. I read it initially like we have figured it out and almost like, this is why he wasn’t doing as well this year because he wasn’t living like a professional athlete should.
‘Obviously it has been taken slightly differently, because he gets left out today. I don’t know what has happened this week, it might come out, it might not.
‘He can say that [rotation]. He played 63 minutes in midweek and got two goals. You don’t take a player who has got two goals; do you think they would do that with (Mohamed) Salah at Liverpool if he scored three goals in two games? It is not going to happen.
‘Something has gone on that we don’t know. If there is something that is a little untoward and he is not living his life right, that is something only he can take control of.
‘You have got to make sure you are on it all the time. I liked a night out, we all did. You have to make sure you live your life right more so than ever. In my day, pretty much everyone else was doing it.
Palace could have taken the lead late on but Andre Onana pulled off a stunning double save
Garnacho was handed a start ahead of Marcus Rashford and threatened down the left
Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson made several stops, including from Matthijs de Ligt
Lisandro Martinez was also denied by the former United stopper at the front post
Rashford missed training following a 12-hour tequila bender in Belfast and going nightclubbing after United lost the Manchester derby in October 2023
‘But not now, you have got to live your life right every single day, you have to dedicate your life to football. He needs to go to the player of two years ago.
‘It doesn’t make sense you could have that high standard and drop to where he was last year. It was hard to watch. Certain games he would trot around and plod.’
