Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score the winner against Wolves (Picture: Getty)

Clinton Morrison has lauded Marcus Rashford for his response after the Manchester United forward was benched for oversleeping.

Rashford has been in fine form for United but Erik ten Hag shocked fans when he announced that the England international would be on the bench for the New Year’s Eve clash against Wolves.

Prior to the game, Ten Hag said that it was due to a disciplinary issue before Rashford confirmed after the 1-0 win that he had missed a team meeting due to the fact that he overslept.

Rashford came off the bench after 45 minutes and scored the only goal of the game to move United into the top four.

The 25-year-old has now scored five match winning goals as a substitute, the joint most in Premier League history.

He has has scored 12 Premier League goals as a substitute in total – with only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (17) and Javier Hernandez (14) netting more from the bench for United in the top-flight.

Speaking about Rashford’s disciplinary issue and subsequent performance against Wolves, Morrison told Sky Sports: ‘Rashford has been Manchester United’s outstanding player, one of their top players [this season].

‘That sets the foundation now. If Erik ten Hag does it to him [dropping Rashford from the XI for oversleeping] he’ll do it to anyone.

‘Anyone can oversleep, it’s an honest mistake, my alarm nearly didn’t go off today!

‘[Sky Sports] would have given me a punishment and sent me out!

‘These things can happen. Rashford could have sat there and sulked, but no, he thought, ‘I’ll come on and make a difference’.

‘Rashford dealt with it superbly. Erik ten Hag’s man-management skills are really good and Manchester United are flying at the moment.’

Ten Hag sent a message to Rashford after the game and praised his player for his positive response.

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‘Rashford could have sat there and sulked!’