Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has declined to respond in detail to Lisandro Martinez’s criticism of the club’s hierarchy, saying he wants to establish the facts before deciding how to address the defender’s comments.
Martinez criticised United director of football Jason Wilcox during a post-match interview with Amazon Prime on Tuesday following the defeat to Atletico Madrid, questioning the club’s level of investment in the squad during the summer transfer window.
The defender argued that Carrick should not be blamed for United’s disappointing start to the season, insisting the manager had not received sufficient backing from the club’s leadership.
United have won only two of their nine matches in all competitions this season, raising concerns about their performances and recruitment strategy.
Wilcox and Chief Executive Officer Omar Berrada spent £155m on first-team reinforcements during the summer, signing goalkeeper Karl Darlow and midfielders Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba and Youri Tielemans.
However, Martinez believes the recruitment was insufficient to build on the team’s achievements last season and called for greater scrutiny of those responsible for the club’s football strategy.
Asked whether he would speak to Martinez about the interview, Carrick said he had yet to watch it and needed more information before commenting.
Carrick said: “I need to find out a bit more about it before I can say if and what is going to be done. I really can’t comment any further because I haven’t seen it.”
The United manager was also asked whether he agreed with Martinez’s assessment that the club had failed to provide adequate support in the transfer market.
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Carrick said he had heard about the interview but suggested the defender’s remarks could have been influenced by the disappointment of the match.
He said: “I haven’t seen the interview; I’ve heard about it as the interview was done, but I think it’s a little bit on the emotions of the game as well.
“Coming here and being disappointed not to get something from the game. Straight after a game for me isn’t the time to talk about that interview because I haven’t seen it, so I can’t really comment on that.
“But I think it’s important for us to move forward quickly, really. There is a big game on Sunday, and it’s really important that we move forward and we stay focused on that.
“There’s disappointment within the group. I’m very disappointed in certain things, and the boys are as well.”
Despite United’s difficult run, Carrick insisted the players remained committed to the team and determined to improve their results.
He acknowledged the frustration surrounding the club’s form but said he had no doubts about the squad’s unity or willingness to compete.
Carrick said his players were “hurting” because of the team’s difficult start to the campaign, while maintaining that their desire to succeed remained strong.
He said: “I don’t doubt the togetherness or the wanting to win or the willingness to do things to win. I really don’t doubt that.
“I know results-wise, it’s easy to look and think there’s something kind of deeply wrong because we haven’t won enough games, so I understand that.”
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