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It has not taken long for Ruben Amorim to find himself thrust into the Old Trafford deep end. A pair of losses that lead to all the difficult questions about the makeup of this squad, a big derby victory that simply cannot be a false dawn, and now having to manage around a fading star who has made it readily clear that he does not want to be at Manchester United much longer.

Marcus Rashford said as much on Tuesday afternoon, the murmurings over his exit becoming a tumult that already threatens to overshadow an EFL Cup quarterfinal against Tottenham (catch all the Carabao Cup action on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network). Then again, why shouldn't Rashford have put his side of the story across? It has been widely reported -- including by CBS Sports on Monday -- that United are looking to move their academy graduate on. When it is also suggested that his club view his departure as part of a much-needed culture reset, why shouldn't Rashford bite back, as he did in an interview with journalist Henry Winter on Tuesday.

"For me, personally, I think I'm ready for a new challenge and the next steps," he said, adding: "When I leave it's going to be 'no hard feelings'. You're not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That's me as a person. 

"If I know that a situation is already bad, I'm not going to make it worse. I've seen how other players have left in the past and I don't want to be that person. When I leave I'll make a statement and it will be from me."

Speaking the next morning, Amorim did all he could to tread a fine line. Publicly he is insistent that the door remains open even if privately he might acknowledge, like many others at United, that Rashford is right. He does need a new challenge. Amorim even hinted he could get that at Old Trafford but there is nothing fresh for Rashford about life under head coach number eight, yet another go around at dragging his boyhood club out of the morass.

"This kind of club needs big talent and he's a big talent, so he just needs to perform at the highest level and that is my focus," said Amorim. "I just want to help Marcus."

Asked about Rashford's desire for a new challenge, he added: "I think it's right. We have here a new challenge, it's a tough one. For me it's the biggest challenge in football because we are in a difficult situation and I already said this is one of the biggest clubs in the world. I really hope all my players are ready for this new challenge."

This move to build bridges suggests Amorim understands Rashford's position better than Rashford himself. The star forward might want a move away, but someone needs to actually buy him, perhaps not for a lot, and pay him, perhaps quite a lot, if he is intent on earning the same $400,000 a week plus pay package he is currently on. In publicly confirming as much he has dealt an early blow to himself in what could be a gruelling PR war. He is not in the same position as Cristiano Ronaldo, whose contract had a little over six months on it when United opted to tear it up. There is surely no way they could afford to do the same even if they negotiated down the remaining $75 million they owe Rashford.

If the market is not there -- and it is hard to see much of one emerging in January -- then both sides are going to find themselves locked in a stand off that draws the eyeballs of millions. Positioning yourself matters and right now Amorim's every utterance is conciliatory. Rashford's absence from the Manchester derby was nothing more than a decision based on application in training and around Carrington. If that changes then there is nothing, the head coach insists, stopping the No.10 or anyone else from being in the squad that travels down to Tottenham for Thursday's match.

"We have one more training session, but it's the same situation [for] all the other players," said Amorim. "If they train well then I have to make a choice. We will see at the end of training."

As has been the case when he has quite frankly talked down United's chances against high grade opposition, Amorim is showing himself to be a man who grasps the reality of his job now, not what he would like it to be. He would doubtless prefer to have the Rashford who blitzed his way through every defense in 2022-23, but he seems to understand better than the player himself -- "I'm halfway through my career," he said. "I don't expect my peak to be now" -- that that season was the exception rather than the norm.

Amorim knows that United and Rashford are likely to be stuck together for a while yet. In such circumstances the head coach cannot be seen to be the one driving a wedge between club and player. Fortunately for him, Rashford has already done that.