Madrid : Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez criticised the club's hierarchy and said he expects more from the team’s technical director following their 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, calling for greater investment in the squad to compete with rival teams, according to Sky Sports.
In a post-match interview, Martinez said he had expected the club's management to bring in more players during the summer transfer window, specifically expressing disappointment with technical director Jason Wilcox.
"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," Martinez said while speaking to Amazon Prime, as quoted by Sky Sports.
Martinez said he expected greater investment from the club's technical director, while acknowledging that players also needed to improve and stressing the importance of building a stronger squad.
"Yes, 100 per cent. I expect more from our technical 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," he said.
The defender added that building a strong squad was essential to handle challenging matches, while suggesting that responsibility for the team's struggles should not rest solely with the manager or players.
"He does his best," Martinez said of manager Michael Carrick. "But every season is different. You can't stay with what you did last season. The teams know how you play, they know every detail. If you don't change, next season is a big problem. You start changing, changing, changing managers. But what about [moves his eyes upwards] other areas?"
Martinez suggested that responsibility for the defeat should not fall solely on the coach and players, pointing to other areas of the club that also needed scrutiny.
"I can't say more. Because also tonight it is easy to say the coach, it is easy to say the players, but also we have to see other areas," he said.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Carrick said he had not watched Martinez’s interview and suggested the defender’s comments may have been influenced by the disappointment of the defeat.
"Well, I haven't seen the interview. I've half heard about it in the other interviews I've done. I think it's a little bit about 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, is not 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. I think there's a big game on Sunday, and it's really important that we move forward and we stay focused on that,” he said.
"There's disappointment within the group. I'm bitterly disappointed in certain things, and the boys are as well as a group," he added.