Ruben Amorim explains his plan for Marcus Rashford after dropping him for Spurs defeat

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has outlined the next steps for Marcus Rashford after he was dropped for their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash against Spurs.

Earlier this week, Rashford declared he was "ready for a new challenge" amid rumours surrounding his future.

"If I know that a situation is already bad I'm not going to make it worse," he told journalist Henry Winter. "I've seen how other players have left in the past and I don't want to be that person. When I leave I'll make a statement and it will be from me."

The 27-year-old forward, who has scored seven goals in 24 games this season, was omitted from United's matchday squad for their Premier League clash against Manchester City on December 15.

Speaking about his decision to drop Rashford for the City game, a defiant Ruben Amorim emphasised the importance of maintaining high standards at "one of the biggest clubs in the world".

He added: "This kind of club needs big talent and he's a big talent, so he just needs to perform at the highest level and that is my focus. I just want to help Marcus."

Amorim also said they would "try different things" to help Rashford find the "best levels he has shown in the past" but after an eventful few days, he missed out for the second game in a row on Thursday night.

After United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup following a dramatic 4-3 defeat to Spurs, Amorim was asked if parting ways with Rashford was best for both the club and player.

Instead, he outlined his plan for the forward. "Tomorrow we have training, he will be there preparing for next game," Amorim told Sky Sports. 'He is a United player, everyone has a future at Manchester United."

Image credit: Getty

Speaking ahead of the Spurs game, Amorim was asked about his handling of the "hard situation" involving Rashford.

"If I give a lot of importance, it will have big headlines in the newspaper. If I say it's not a problem, then my standards are getting low," he said.

"So, I will deal with that, I understand that. My focus is not to take the attention from the game, from the team, what we did in the last game and put on Marcus."

He added: "What I'm saying is that the team is more important than the individual. We will assess at the right time, let's focus on the game. That's all."

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