Michael Carrick has rejected the outside perception of Manchester United, insisting that comments made by those outside the club do not reflect "the truth." He defended Lisandro Martinez in the aftermath of the Argentine's fiery remarks following United's loss to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
Martinez's Apology and Carrick's Response
Martinez criticised the club's technical director Jason Wilcox and their summer recruitment after the defeat. He has since acknowledged he went about things the wrong way after talking with senior figures at the club. His interview came with United desperately out of form, and his outburst led several pundits to question the unity at the club and whether the dressing room are privately frustrated with how the summer was handled.
Carrick maintains that, just because pundits and ex-players choose to cast their opinion on the current state of affairs, it does not mean they are correct. He said: "Just because people talk from the outside, that doesn't mean it's the truth. The squad today in training was in a fantastic place - that's the truth."
United's Poor Start and Carrick's Focus
United, who have endured their worst start to a campaign in 40 years, will look to get back to winning ways when they head to Leeds on Sunday. They currently sit 13th having won only one of their six Premier League games so far. Carrick cut off a reporter who claimed it was he who needed the tide to turn.
"I don't need results," he quipped. "We all need results. It's not about me; Manchester United is bigger than an individual, so please, I don't go into every day thinking about me. It's not about any individual player; it's about this football club and its history."
Spirit Despite Defeat
Carrick's latest defeat came in the Spanish capital, but he praised the way the team stuck at it despite going behind in the opening minute. They remained in the fight and missed several chances to level the contest before Atletico scored late, but the display was proof of the spirit that still exists.
"There's a lot of things that can impact the group in a lot of ways," he said. "From the game itself, you talk about the spirit and belief in the group, the way we started that game, it would have been easy for the game to have got away from us. The way we started to shows there's an underlying spirit."
