'They should know' - Erik ten Hag sends warning to Man Utd squad following Marcus Rashford fallout

Erik ten Hag insists his Manchester United players should be able to 'manage themselves' after having to discipline Marcus Rashford for the second time of his tenure this week.

Rashford was fined £650,000 - equivalent to two week's wages - and dropped for the FA Cup win over Newport County after calling in sick for training on Friday, following a night out in Belfast. ManchesterWorld understands United were misled regarding the forward's whereabouts, believing he arrived back in the UK on Thursday.

The 26-year-old was benched for last season's trip to Wolves after showing up late to a meeting and drew criticism for his decision to go out after United lost 3-0 against Manchester City in October. Ten Hag has already insisted the 'internal matter' had been dealt with but warned he cannot babysit his players.

“The players at this level need to manage themselves,” Ten Hag said. “That is what you can demand from the player. The player has to know what is good and not good. When you want to play top football, it demands a certain way of life. Always. 

"We're talking about top football players. I don’t have to educate them any more. When you're playing for Manchester United, they should know. Part of the job is to support your players, but we also have people in this club who are helping the players on that. But, as I said before, when you are a player at United, you have to manage yourself.

“You have to take responsibility for your performance and your performance in the team, it is all about that. At United, it is all about winning football games. It's not so complicated."

There have been questions as to whether Ten Hag would adopt the same hardline stance on Rashford that he did for Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho, who were both exiled from the first-team picture. However, the key difference on that front is that Sancho and Ronaldo both went public with their grievances.

“We can sort out everything internally,” Ten Hag added. “Jadon chose to go public. It has nothing to do with the relationship between me and Marcus.” Rashford is expected to be part of the squad that travels to Molineux this evening, with Ten Hag insisting it was 'case closed' regarding his punishment.