Alan Shearer singled out Marcus Rashford as one of four Manchester United players he blamed for ‘giving up’ in the 1-0 loss to Newcastle.

On Saturday night, Anthony Gordon scored the game’s sole goal at St James’ Park, as United suffered their sixth loss in 14 Premier League games this season.

The scoreline belied the visitors’ terrible performance, in which they were comprehensively outfought and outplayed over the duration of an embarrassingly one-sided encounter.

Shearer remarked on The Rest is Football podcast that the manner of the defeat spoke volumes about the attitude of some United players. 

‘I thought they were a shambles, I thought they were awful,’ he remarked.

Marcus Rashford was one of four Manchester United players who ‘gave up’ in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle, according to Alan Shearer.

Shearer claimed that several of Erik ten Hag’s players had a “bad attitude.”

‘I thought their attitude was terrible, and it brought to light some of the truly horrible attitudes they plainly had.

‘When things are challenging and difficult, you see the players who want to play for you and the players who want to support you as a manager and a fan. 

‘And I think there were three or four players yesterday who were unwilling to roll up their sleeves, gave up far too easy, and refused to fight.’

On Saturday night, Ten Hag was visibly irritated with several of his players and argued with Anthony Martial after the striker’s failure to track down a Newcastle break nearly resulted in a goal for Miguel Almiron.

After an hour of arguing with the manager, the Frenchman was taken off in place of Rasmus Hojlund.

Marcus Rashford had a similarly dismal night, giving up possession repeatedly and seemed to make little effort to go back and assist out defensively.

The England international scored 30 goals in all competitions last season and was rewarded with a five-year contract worth £300,000 a week in the summer, but he has only scored twice this season.

Rashford struck a disgruntled figure as he was replaced, and Shearer cautioned him that his lack of effort and terrible body language were once again an issue.

Rashford’s demeanor and lack of effort at St James’ Park were concerning.

Anthony Martial was similarly unproductive and unable to justify his starting spot.

Shearer argued that United are a ‘basket case of a club’ that is far from succeeding under ten Hag.

‘When you look at Rashford’s performance yesterday, he didn’t seem to want to be there at all,’ he remarked.

‘You could see his response when he was hauled away.’

Jamie Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports on Sunday, characterized Rashford’s performance as ‘unacceptable’ for failing in his leadership obligations as a ‘local’ player.

‘Watching Rashford, he reminds me of Martial, which is the worst thing you could say about him,’ he remarked.

‘A foreign player enters and doesn’t seem to care. Rashford has started looing like Martial.’ 

Ten Hag refused to comment on Rashford’s performance following the defeat to Newcastle, but stated he will speak with the England international personally.

The defeat at St James’ Park drops United to seventh in the league, five points off the top four.

United play Chelsea and Bournemouth in the next six days before traveling to Anfield, where they were defeated 7-0 last season.

They must also defeat Bayern Munich on December 12 if they are to advance to the Champions League knockout stages.

A poor season on the field is unfolding against the backdrop of the 13-month-long takeover controversy. 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to buy a 25% interest in United, but the deal has yet to be formally approved.

Martial and ten Hag appeared to disagree in the first half before the Frenchman was eventually replaced after an hour. 

And Shearer agreed that the persistent instability behind the scenes was simply complicating ten Hag’s work.

‘It’s a football club in shambles,’ he remarked.

‘I don’t see it [United improving] happening anytime soon. It’s a long-term job, and it’s always been a long-term work. 

‘They’ve been nowhere near where they want to be for a lot of years now, and what happens with the owners eventually spills over onto the pitch.’