‘Out of order’ – Michael Carrick urged to drop Man Utd star for Bournemouth clash

Duncan Ferguson thinks Michael Carrick should drop Bruno Fernandes and look to sell the Manchester United captain after his outburst in midweek.

United were beaten 4-1 by Como in the Champions League on Wednesday night, which is their heaviest defeat in the competition since their 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in November 1994.

The Red Devils are now winless in seven matches in all competitions, and their issues were compounded at full-time after captain Fernandes appeared to publicly question his manager’s tactics.

His comments come just a week after Lisandro Martinez took aim at the club’s senior hierarchy for a perceived lack of investment in the summer transfer window.

Martinez kept his place in the side following his outburst before picking up an injury against Leeds United, but former Everton striker Ferguson urged Carrick not to make the same mistake with Fernandes as he fights to keep his job against Bournemouth on Sunday.

‘For a player to come out and talk about their game tactics or their game plan is wrong,’ he told The Overlap Daily.

‘We should never mention things like that. I think Fernandes was completely and utterly out of order.

‘All I would say to Michael is this: Put people in the team who you can trust. At the end of the day, if he doesn’t turn it around, he’s going to lose his job.

‘The ones you don’t trust to do a job for you, get them out of the team and get boys in there that are going to run for you.

‘Don’t go on reputation. Your captain has thrown you under the bus, so if you don’t think he is playing for you, then get him out of the team.

‘Get Martinez out of the team and put in boys that are going to die for you and they are going to run through brick walls for you. If you lose, you lose, but if you keep them in the team and they aren’t playing for you, you are [definitely] going to lose your job.

‘Even if Fernandes is their best player, if he’s not with you and decided to throw you under the bus, get him out the team and get other boys in who are going to graft for you.’

Fernandes enjoyed a stellar season under Carrick last season, but has now gone seven games without a goal involvement in all competitions.

And Ferguson believes the club may have made a mistake by not cashing in on the 32-year-old last summer, insisting: ‘I think Man Utd should have got rid of Bruno last year when he was flying.

‘I’m not saying he’s completely gone, but you’ve got to time it. If he’s causing you a problem, you get rid of him, don’t you? As soon as you can.

‘If he’s coming out and there in the press and mouthing off and bad-mouthing your manager and the club, as Martinez was doing before, you get rid of them.’

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