Ruben Amorim insists it was NOT a mistake to leave out Marcus Rashford against Tottenham after the Man United forward revealed he was ‘ready for a new challenge’

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim once again defended his decision to leave Marcus Rashford out of the squad for the second game in a row despite his side crashing out of the Carabao Cup.

Rashford missed the Manchester derby and then revealed in an impressive interview that he was ‘ready for a new challenge’ ahead of Thursday’s 4-3 defeat at Spurs.

‘No, that’s not true [a mistake]’, Amorim emphasized about his decision. ‘I feel like I’m doing the right thing for the team, so it’s never a mistake.

“We have to make a selection, sometimes you fall a little short in the game and you see some guys come into the game and change it a little bit, but I don’t think it was a mistake because I always do the best for the team. my way of seeing things.’

Tottenham won Thursday’s thriller by seven goals after almost taking a 3-0 lead.

Two goals from Dominic Solanke and one from Dejan Kulusevski had seemingly given the home side complete control before goalkeeper Fraser Forster made a couple of blunders and gifted goals to substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo.

A goal straight from a Son Heung-min corner then gave Spurs some breathing space, but Jonny Evans provided a thrilling finish when he found the net in the fourth minute of extra time.

United’s dramatic exit from the Carabao Cup came just four days after they came from behind to win 2-1 at Manchester City in the Premier League.

Amorim made headlines before kick-off on Sunday by leaving Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho out of his squad, despite both strikers being fit to play.

Speaking last weekend, the manager explained: ‘They are fighting for their place.

‘But for me it’s important: the performance in training, the performance in the match, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you interact with teammates, the way you push your teammates.

‘Everything is important at the beginning of something. If we want to change a lot of things, if people in our club lose their jobs, we have to set the bar very high.

“Today the team proved that we can leave anyone out of the squad and win if you play together.

‘There are some things that need to change. But it is a new life, it is not a discipline matter.

“If it was disciplinary I would say it would be a bigger problem here, but it wasn’t.

‘I want to improve my players and you understand that we have tried for so long, for example with Rash. It doesn’t work. Let’s keep doing the same thing or try something different?

‘So it’s that simple. We need to improve our standards off the field.

‘If they train well and are better than the other boys on and off the field, they play or sit on the bench.’

Garnacho returned to the bench at United on Thursday and ultimately played the final twenty minutes plus injury time against Spurs.

But Rashford was once again left out of consideration after the 27-year-old told former Times journalist Henry Winter earlier this week that he was eyeing a move away from Old Trafford.

Rashford said: “For me personally, I think I am ready for a new challenge and the next steps.

‘If I leave, it will be ‘no hard feelings’. You won’t get any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That’s me as a person.

‘If I know a situation is already bad, I’m not going to make it worse.

“I’ve seen other players leave in the past and I don’t want to be that person. When I leave, I will make a statement, and it will be mine.”

When asked if he would always be a Red man through and through, Rashford – who was at the club from the age of seven and made his debut in 2016 – replied: ‘Yes! 100%. 100%.’

Rashford has spent his entire club career so far at United.

He scored 138 goals in 426 first-team appearances for the Red Devils – one goal every 3.09 games. But he has found the net just 15 times in 67 games this season and last, with an average of one goal every 4.47 games.

His current contract at Old Trafford expires in June 2028.