Neville says why Amorim isn't making same mistake as past Man Utd bosses with Rashford

Gary Neville believes Ruben Amorim’s handling of Marcus Rashford might be motivated by self-preservation,

Rashford was again left out of the squad against Bournemouth for the second straight Premier League game.

And it comes after a week of speculation about his future with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain linked with a January move.

Amorim cited "selection" reasons for the decision to leave him out of the Manchester derby, a justification he repeated when Rashford missed the 4-3 Carabao Cup loss to Tottenham on Thursday.

In the midst of these absences, Rashford made waves with an interview on Tuesday, declaring he was "ready for a new challenge and the next steps" in his career.

Once again, Rashford was left watching from the sidelines as Bournemouth visited Old Trafford on Sunday, with United reaffirming the absence was due to selection choices.

Addressing Amorim’s approach, Sky Sports pundit Neville suggested the manager is acting to safeguard his own position.

"It’s a case of he’s got to protect himself," Neville remarked.

The former United captain elaborated: "Something has to change at Manchester United. We’ve been watching a lot of the same players over the last four or five years deliver the same results.

"We’ve talked about culture a number of times. If there are players that aren’t quite fitting in for one reason or another, if they’ve not got enough quality, they have to be let go.

"Ruben Amorim knows now that five managers before him have fallen, and some of those managers have shown faith in these same players.

"So I think it’s a case of he’s got to protect himself and do the right thing – for the club and himself."

Neville also speculated that a deeper issue is behind Rashford’s exclusion from three straight games.

"It was a surprise last weekend, but obviously now, it’s getting to a point where you leave him out three games on the bounce, something really is obviously going wrong or has gone wrong," he said.

"It’s not looking great for both Marcus’s future at the club and for Manchester United keeping him either.

"I suspect it’s getting to that point in the journey where it looks like it’s an inevitable ending."

As Amorim faces mounting pressure, his decisions regarding Rashford reflect a balancing act between team dynamics and personal survival in the high-stakes environment of Old Trafford.