Ruben Amorim explains shock choice to drop Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho for Manchester derby

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Ruben Amorim has explained why Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were dropped from his Manchester United squad to face Manchester City in the derby as the Portuguese manager said his decision was to do with setting high standards at Old Trafford.

Rashford and Garnacho were left to train at Carrington on Sunday morning as Amorim took United to the Etihad and came away with a dramatic late win that was inspired by Amad Diallo.

Amorim said the decision to omit Rashford and Garnacho was not a disciplinary move, as he emphasised that he evaluates all areas when it comes to naming his team.

He said both players will have the chance to fight for their place ahead of Thursday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Tottenham but added that United’s collective performance showed no one is undroppable.

“When people in the club are losing their jobs, we have to push our standards really high,” said Amorim, in what appeared to be a reference to former sporting director Dan Ashworth, amid wider redundancies at Old Trafford.

“Next week, next game, new life, they are fighting for their places but for me it’s important, the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates, the way you push your teammates, everything is important when we want to change a lot of things.

“They have to fight for a place in the team and today the team proved we can leave anyone out of the squad and manage to win if you play together.”

United were heading for a third consecutive defeat in the Premier League until a dramatic late turnaround sparked by Diallo winning an 88th minute penalty.

The winger then scored a 90th minute winner, as Amorim’s big call paid off.

Speaking to Sky Sports before the Premier League clash, he had confirmed the decision to drop Rashford and Garnacho was based on a variety of reasons, including off-field matters.

“Selection. We try to evaluate everything: training, performance, game performance, engagement with the team-mates, pushing the team-mates up. Everything is on the line when we analyse and try to choose the players, so that is my selection. Simple.

“I don’t want to send a message. It’s simply an evaluation, and they know it. The players are really, really smart. Everybody understands my decision. I have to choose. It’s just a simple selection.

“The context is difficult. We have to win games and we have a difficult situation. I pay attention to everything, the way you eat, the way you put on your clothes to go the game. Everything. I make my evaluation and then I have to decide. I have a lot of players to choose.”

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville praised Amorim’s decision and challenged Rashford and Garnacho to use their exclusion to turn their season around.

“I want Marcus Rashford and Garnacho to come back stronger, take the message that they’ve been given this morning by going training at the training ground on a Sunday when no one else is there, I want them to take this in the right spirit and become the very best players for Manchester United,” he told Sky Sports.

“But what’s really clear, I don’t care who you are, whether you’re Andrei Kanchelskis, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Nani, whoever you are as a wide player at Manchester United, you’ve got to run that way as fast as you can, you’ve got to run back that way as fast as you can.

“And then the rest of it… To be fair, they’ve got the talent and they’ve got the ability, but if you don’t do that, there’s no place for you in the club, there’s no place for you in the team.”