Ruben Amorim has told Marcus Rashford that Manchester United are a better team with the 27-year-old in the side, but he will only recall the absent forward when he makes the changes he is demanding.

With time running out for Rashford to secure a move away from the club this month and a loan switch to Barcelona looking difficult to pull off, the academy graduate could find himself still at United come the end of the January transfer window despite publicly expressing a desire to leave.

Amorim has again left Rashford out of the squad that travelled to Romania on Wednesday to face FCSB in their final fixture of the league phase of the Europa League, with a spot in the top eight and automatic qualification to the last-16 on the line. Rashford hasn't played for United since December 12 and has been left out of 11 of the last 12 squads.

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On Sunday, Amorim said he would rather put 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital on the bench than a player not giving their maximum. At Romania's National Arena in Bucharest, he said that was a point aimed at all of his players and offered the hint of an olive branch to Rashford by praising his talents as a footballer.

"Again guys, the situation is the same for every player. The last time I talked about that in the last game, my sentence was that I will not put any player who doesn’t give the maximum. I didn’t say I will not put Marcus Rashford. It’s the same situation," he said.

"When I feel it’s the right moment I will put any player to play. I will say it again, we are a better team with Marcus Rashford, and that's clear. He's a big talent but until the right moment, I won’t change my mind, that's all."

Amorim explained that Rashford's absence was due to training performances, and he again said his efforts at Carrington were "not good enough" but that it wasn't a disciplinary matter.

He did demand that the forward change his approach, however, and said that if he does, there is still a role for him at Old Trafford and a chance to add to his 426 appearances for his boyhood club, but he has to show that he wants it badly enough.

"You can look at our team and imagine the profile of the players. Now imagine a talent like Rashford? Our team should be so much better with Rashford," he said.

"But he has to change. If he changes, we are more than welcome to put in a talent like Rashford. And we need it! In this moment, it is really clear that we have to set some standards, that’s all.

"We are waiting for Marcus, if he wants it really really bad. You try to make it something personal but it’s not personal. I have nothing against Marcus. I just have to make the same rules for everybody. For me it’s so simple. It’s always the same answer."