Marcus Rashford's benching felt like the starting gun to another story of Manchester United unrest, writes lauriewhitwell. Instead, it illustrated Erik Ten Hag's absolute authority — an authority the MUFC dressing room respects.
Rashford has been responsible for much of that attacking edge, and a manager less assured than Ten Hag may have been tempted to keep him in the team with vital points at stake. But Ten Hag, who has the complete backing of executives, took the longer-term view. He knew the message punishing Rashford would have on the rest of the group.
Ten Hag said: “That’s how it has to be. We are a team that is hard to beat. But that is because we are attacking with 11, defending with 11, everyone is matching the rules in the defending way. That’s why it is so difficult to score against us. So if you don’t do that anymore we get punished. When you are off the pitch missing the standards and the rules, it will also flow into the pitch.”This is a dressing room, don’t forget, that has experienced problems with discipline and unity before.