Rashford's first coach Dave Horrocks reckons Bardsley has an anti-United agenda and is bitter at how his stint at club ended
PHIL BARDSLEY has been labelled a “two-faced herbert” with an anti-Manchester United agenda by Marcus Rashford’s first coach.
The Burnley defender – a former United trainee – was kicked by Rashford as the pair tangled off-the-ball at Turf Moor.
Rashford, 20, was sent off for the first time in his career after headbutting the Burnley man and will now be banned for three matches.
Rashford’s first football coach Dave Horrocks has backed his protégé to learn from the dismissal after being “conned” by Bardsley, who kicked the United forward as they raced off-field.
And he reckons the Burnley man, 35, has an agenda against the club where he made just eight Prem appearances in five unsuccessful years at Old Trafford.
Horrocks, the development officer at Manchester junior club Fletcher Moss Rangers, said: “Phil Bardsley is one of the biggest, two-faced ‘herberts’ going.
“He is ex-United player, who was upset Sir Alex Ferguson got rid of him because he wasn’t good enough.
“Now all he wants to do against United is to kick players.
“Throughout Marcus’s career, he learned all along the way. He has been prepared for everything and taken every opportunity that has come his way.
“This for me will be the perfect lesson to learn from and go out and realise how easy it is to get conned. Because I think he was conned and fell for the three-card trick.
“As a baby, all he wanted to do was play football. He wasn’t confrontational. He doesn’t even answer his mum back, let alone anybody else.
“As far our young man is concerned, he doesn’t have that sort of streak in him.
“But I would like him at some stage to have that because that’s what is missing from him. Considering he is from the streets, he is quite a timid, quiet boy.”
It has been suggested Rashford is feeling frustrated at the lack of starting opportunities this season, especially as he was on the United bench for the past two Prem games.
Horrocks, whose club nurtured the likes of Wes Brown, Danny Welbeck and Ravel Morrison as kid, believes Mourinho doesn’t trust English players,
He added: “The likes of Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs like English players.
“Mourinho hasn’t got a great deal of faith in them. Just look at what has happened to Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. It seems as if the English players have to work twice as hard.”
