Ruben Amorim has called for a raising of the standards set by Manchester United as he responded to criticism over the recent moves of Marcus Rashford and Casemiro during the international break.
The Red Devils duo both traveled to the United States for a vacation during their respective days off last week. Rashford was seen attending an NBA game in New York and Casemiro posted photos on social media with his family at Disney World in Florida.
These trips were publicly criticized by United legend Gary Neville, who questioned their professionalism and decision-making.
Neville had the opportunity to quiz Ruben Amorim on this very subject as he interviewed the new United boss for Sky Sports on Friday, ahead of the Portuguese’s first game in charge this weekend in the Premier League against Ipswich at Portman Road .
“The first thing is there were five days off. The second thing is they received information about ‘five days off’ and they’re big boys, they have kids so they decide what to do.” , said Amorim.
“I think the main question here is that the club has to set the standards and manage this. It’s my decision whether they can have five days as coach, or three days. Or three days to rest, you can’t fly. This is something the club has to decide.
“But you can’t impose that on the players. They told them they had five days off to be able to fly anywhere. Nobody at the club said they couldn’t fly.
“They have to live their lives because they are grown men and they have to decide these things. As a club we have to change these norms.”
Amorim specifically addressed Neville saying he would not have made the same decision as Rashford and Casemiro during his time at United during their glory years under Sir Alex Ferguson.
“To me the difference is that in your time you had great leadership, very, very strong and the culture was already there when you started,” he said.
“So it was a long time with the same identity, the same way of seeing things and you felt that even if you did that, your teammates would talk to you.
“Now that’s another point, it has to be recognized. It has to be started in the club, with us.
“We are responsible in this area. We cannot blame this on Rash or Case at the moment. They are given the information ‘five days off’, do what you want’. As a club we need to establish best standards and we will try to do that.