Michael Carrick declined to discuss Lisandro Martinez's explosive post-match interview after Manchester United's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid in Spain. The centre-back launched a scathing attack on the club's decision-makers, INEOS, minutes after the final whistle.
Martinez's emotional outburst
In an angry rant, Martinez made it clear he believes the recruitment team have failed his manager Carrick and have not provided a squad capable of competing against Europe's elite. Asked about his comments by Amazon Prime Video's Gabriel Clarke, Carrick replied: "I haven't seen it."
Told that Martinez feels the club didn't support him sufficiently in the transfer market, Carrick downplayed it as he added: "After a game like this, you come here to try and get something out of the game. We're disappointed. Sometimes he can be a little bit emotional. I've not seen it. I don't think now is the right time for me to comment on it. I fully know we all care. We show that in different ways."
Carrick calls for unity
"But now is certainly the time to be together and work through. We've got a big game now on Sunday. We've got to prepare for that properly," Carrick added.
Martinez had earlier said: "I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it's a reflection of how our club is at the moment. We had a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, from upstairs, to bring in more players to compete because many teams have brought in many players as well."
Defender demands more from club
"Atletico have an amazing team and they deserve to win today. I expect more, honestly. I expect more from our sporting director. I have to be honest. And also, as a player, we have to do more. It's also important to build a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night. It's annoying and disappointing coming here. I'm not seeing my team trying to get an amazing result here. It's disappointing," he said.
The visibly frustrated defender continued: "He [Carrick] does his best. But every season is different. You can't stay with what you did last season. Teams know you, how you play. Teams know every detail, and if you don't change next season, it's a big problem. You start changing, changing, changing managers. But what about other areas? I can't say more. Tonight, it's easy to say the coach, it's easy to say the players. But also we have to look at other areas [of the club]."
