Erik ten Hag has explained his decision to drop Marcus Rashford to the bench for Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Chelsea on Wednesday evening.

The striker faced criticism for a subpar performance in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle at St James’ Park. His insufficient effort, particularly notable after not participating in the midweek match against Galatasaray, became a significant point of concern.

Throughout the season, Rashford has consistently struggled with his form, only scoring twice in the Premier League. One of these goals came from a penalty against Everton, which was generously given to him by captain Bruno Fernandes in an attempt to bolster his confidence amid his ongoing struggles

While Ten Hag had previously supported Rashford’s commitment, he chose not to include the 26-year-old in the starting lineup at Old Trafford. Instead, he favored a front three featuring Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, and Rasmus Hojlund

Although the chosen lineup seemed like a response to the disappointing performance at Newcastle, Ten Hag emphasized that it wasn’t a criticism of Rashford. Instead, he explained it as a strategic rotation of players during a demanding series of matches.

Asked if Rashford’s absence from the starting XI was down to a perceived lack of commitment, Ten Hag told Amazon Prime Video: ‘No, we played bad as a team so we can’t blame individuals for that.

It’s part of rotation, and I think we have a very good, energised frontline. Everyone has to be ready and we do it as a team, as a dressing room.’

Asked what he has told his players ahead of facing Chelsea, Ten Hag replied: ‘In one week, six days, we had two very good performances [against Everton and Galatasaray] and on Saturday it was a bad performance, so we have to put this right.

‘We showed [what we need to do] in the two performances before, where we played very good, in and out of possession.’