Patrice Evra has criticised Manchester United players for being ‘unprofessional’ in their recent defeat against Newcastle and claimed Ryan Giggs ‘wouldn’t have given up’ like Marcus Rashford did at St James’ Park.
Rashford was dropped for United’s home clash with Chelsea on Wednesday following a difficult run of form with the winger scoring just twice in the Premier League this season.
United boss Erik ten Hag opted to start Brazilian winger Antony in his place, with Rashford having previously started every English top-flight game this season bar one.
The 26-year-old was criticised after his side’s recent defeat against Newcastle, with former United captain Roy Keane blasting Rashford for not working hard enough at St James’ Park.
A deflated Evra claimed Old Trafford has lost its ‘fear factor’ and cast doubt on Rashford’s recent form after the winger signed a new mega-money contract with the club in the summer.
Marcus Rashford was dropped for Manchester United’s clash with Chelsea on Wednesday
Rashford was individually criticised for his recent performance against Newcastle
‘Old Trafford has lost the fear factor. I was quite pleased with the performance in the Champions League, but against Newcastle it was unprofessional, players didn’t want to be on the pitch,’ he told Amazon Prime.
‘Rashford – I remember Giggsy [Ryan Giggs] at 39 he wouldn’t give up like that.
‘There’s something wrong. I don’t know if it’s about the communication. Every successful team they run, that’s the basics. That’s what they’re not doing right now.’
Newcastle and Premier League legend Alan Shearer similarly criticised United’s players for their lacklustre outing in the north east and compared their efforts to Magpies duo Miguel Almiron and Anthony Gordon.
Evra was unhappy with United’s first-team players and insisted Old Trafford has lost its ‘fear factor’
‘The biggest difference is when you compare in terms of the running Almiron and Gordon did. The difference in attitude was stark, that’s why you have to expect a reaction from these players tonight.’
United manager Ten Hag explained the decision to drop Rashford to the bench against Chelsea and insisted individuals can’t be blamed for recent struggles.
‘We had two good performances and Saturday wasn’t so we need to put this right,’ said Ten Hag.
‘We played bad as a team [against Newcastle] so we can’t blame individuals. It’s part of rotation.’
