Former Manchester United defender, and eight-time Premier League winner, Gary Neville says Marcus Rashford needs to “relax” and “calm down” in light of off-field stories surrounding him in the past week.
United say forward Rashford “has taken responsibility for his actions” and will be available for selection after reports he was seen in nightclubs and bars in Northern Ireland on Wednesday and Thursday evening.
The England international missed training at United on Friday after reporting ill and did not feature in Sunday’s 4-2 FA Cup win over Newport.
When asked how legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson would have dealt with Rashford’s indiscretions, Neville told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast that “he would have given him a dressing down”.
Neville said: “He would have said a similar thing. Make sure you do it at the right moments.
“No one ever says to a football player you can’t go out but obviously when you have a game three days later, Marcus himself knows, he’s an experienced player now, we’re not talking about a young lad but he’s done it a couple of times in the last few months.
“I’ve always seen Marcus as being really responsible, a good professional, works hard every single day. He’s going through a dip in form at this moment of time but it’s happened once, it’s now happened twice and it can sometimes become your personality if you’re not careful.
“If you do it too many times people can start to say ‘well what’s happened in his life’?
“So he just needs to relax, calm down, choose when to go out and get back to playing football and the levels which we know he can.”
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
