Man Utd: Ten Hag sack claim made with Rashford ‘at heart of’ Fernandes ‘rallying call’ after Fulham win
Marcus Rashford “was at the heart of” a “rallying call” from Bruno Fernandes, who emphasised the need to use Manchester United’s win over Fulham “as a turning point” in their season, according to a report.
Red Devils captain Fernandes scored the only goal in Saturday’s game at Craven Cottage to hand Erik ten Hag a crucial win after two consecutive 3-0 defeats at Old Trafford.
The 1-0 win lifted a lot of pressure from Ten Hag, whose position as United boss was under scrutiny given the nature of the two aforementioned home losses to Manchester City and Newcastle United.
According to the Sun, Fernandes urged players to use the narrow win over Fulham as a catalyst to “turn the season around” with United eighth in the Premier League with five defeats in 11 matches, third in their Champions League group, and out of the Carabao Cup.
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The website’s Manchester United source said: “Bruno was obviously buzzing after the game, but he wanted to make a point to his team-mates; they needed to use it as a turning point.
“As captain, he stood up after the game and delivered a really strong rallying call to his fellow players.
“He said it was on all of them to build on the win and transform the season.
“Bruno has come in for a lot of criticism over recent weeks from fans and former players.
“But he is still respected by the players which is why they listened to what he had to say.
“There was a really good feeling among the group afterwards and Marcus Rashford was at the heart of it.
“He’s had a difficult few days but all of that is in the past and a line has been drawn under what happened.
“Everyone wants to move on – and that starts with a win in Denmark [against Copenhagen].”
The same outlet reported on Monday that Ten Hag – who is the second-favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked – has the “unwavering support” of legendary Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
And it is added that Ferguson has been “impressed at the way” Ten Hag has dealt with some big issues since joining the English giants last year.
The Sun‘s source added: “Sir Alex has been very supportive of Erik since he arrived at the club, and that’s not changed in the last week.
“Everyone at the club is desperately disappointed at recent results, but Erik still retains the support of Sir Alex and many other senior figures at the club.
“Sir Alex has been impressed at the way Erik has dealt with some difficult decisions since arriving at the club.
“He thinks he’s shown the kind of character and mentality required to turn the club around – and he firmly believes Erik deserves time, like he got, to make a success of things at the club.”
“But even if the worse was to happen it’s very unlikely Ten Hag would be sacked.
“Contrary to reports, there isn’t a short list being drawn up and there is no natural caretaker in mind who could step up and take over.
“The board are confident Erik will turn things around – and show he is the man for the job.”
