Bruno Fernandes has said that 'factors outside the dressing room' have contributed to Manchester United's poor start to the season under Michael Carrick. The club had gone nine matches without a win in all competitions before beating Roma in the Champions League.
Fernandes scored a penalty to open the scoring at Old Trafford, with Matheus Cunha adding two goals as Carrick's side secured a 3-2 league phase victory.
Premier League struggles
United remain 17th in the Premier League table, with one match left before the November international break. Fernandes spoke openly about the difficulties he and the club have faced this campaign and offered reasons for the disappointing results.
"It's a question of confidence," Fernandes told TNT Sport Brazil. "At this club, it's difficult when results are negative. There are a lot of factors outside the dressing room, outside of the players and the backroom staff, which make the performances of the club and what we can do on the pitch more difficult."
Fernandes on frustration
He added: "It affects a lot of players. Some deal with it better, some worse. We set high expectations for ourselves, and when things don't work out, we end up mentally crushed by the frustration of not being able to give the club what we believe we're truly capable of."
"When the situation is like this, there isn't just one problem. There is more than one. There are a lot of things to improve, to do in a different way. Unfortunately for us, it's been happening for a long time, which makes things more difficult."
"We know that no one at this club [likes to] not be winning. When you sign for this club, represent this club, it's because you want something more. Unfortunately, it hasn't been the case in the last few years."
Support for Carrick
United now face Aston Villa at Old Trafford this weekend in their final league fixture before the international break. In a separate interview on Tuesday evening, Fernandes pledged his support for Carrick, two weeks after publicly questioning the manager's tactical approach, which led to the Portugal international being dropped before returning to the starting eleven.
"The club needed that win, the players needed that win [vs Roma], it's something that we needed as a group of players. We've been working so hard to get out of this situation together," Fernandes told Amazon Prime on Tuesday.
"It's been tough, there's been a lot of speculation in the media, a lot of lies around many things that happened in this club between me and the manager, like that we had clear-the-air talks. Nothing like that happened."
"The manager took a decision to put myself on the bench [vs Chelsea] because I wasn't performing and that's fair, everyone felt it was a punishment for the words I said, and if it was, it was right. The manager is the one who makes the decisions; I have to accept them, I have to go forward with them."
"It doesn't change the belief I have on the manager, on the staff and every player in this club, and it doesn't change my aim to win every f****** game ahead of me."
