Former Manchester United midfielder Gordon Strachan had little sympathy for either Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish after both missed out on Euro 2024.
Strachan had a successful spell in management at club level and also got the chance to take charge of his home country, Scotland.
In the lead-up to Euro 2024 this summer, there were question marks over Rashford’s potential inclusion in Germany, and also for City winger Grealish.
In the end, neither made the cut, causing outcry amongst some, but Strachan backed the decision.
He told Prime Casino : “Rashford has not had a good season. He's a good player, but he's not had a good season. If you think about the boy Anthony Gordon, Eze at Crystal Palace, who I think could be the surprise package for England and really make a difference when needed, both of those players have produced better campaigns and are in better form than Rashford this year.
"As a manager, sometimes you pick players because of what they’ve given you before, or because you think they can produce something special, even if they are not in the best form. The reality is that that very rarely happens. Players don’t click into form just because they’ve got on a plane.
“That's the choice you've got to make as a manager, especially with forwards. Defenders can usually keep the level of consistency the same because the game comes at them. For forwards it's different. You've got to pick players who are on form at that moment in time; players that have been performing for the last two or three months.
“I don’t have a problem with Gareth leaving Rashford behind. I don’t have a problem with him leaving Grealish behind.
"Fans and pundits need to remember that Gareth sees things differently. No one can see the England team and the players through Gareth’s eyes. It would have been difficult for him to make the decision to leave out Grealish and Rashford, but these are the calls you need to make as a manager. You need to be stubborn. Stubbornness definitely helps you.
"Blinkers down, this is what I'm going to do.”
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