Carrick defends Martinez and dismisses pundits after United's worst start in 40 years

Michael Carrick has defended Lisandro Martinez and rejected pundit commentary on Manchester United’s internal state, insisting those outside the club are not speaking ‘the truth’ as his side sit 13th in the Premier League after winning just one of their opening six games.

Martinez sparked a wave of scrutiny when he publicly criticised technical director Jason Wilcox and the club’s summer transfer business following Tuesday night’s defeat to Atletico Madrid in Madrid. The Argentine has since acknowledged he handled the situation poorly after speaking with senior figures at the club, but the episode prompted widespread questions about dressing-room unity and whether players are privately frustrated with how the window was managed.

Carrick was unequivocal in his response. “Just because people talk from the outside, that doesn’t mean it’s the truth,” he said. “The squad today in training was in a fantastic place — that’s the truth.”

The United interim manager also pushed back when a reporter suggested he personally needed results to turn around, cutting off the question sharply. “I don’t need results,” he said. “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.”

United’s current run represents their worst start to a Premier League campaign in 40 years, a statistic that has intensified pressure on everyone at the club. They travel to Leeds on Sunday looking to end a run of poor form that has left them adrift in the table.

Despite the defeat in Madrid — where Atletico scored in the opening minute and again late on to seal the result — Carrick pointed to the performance as evidence that spirit within the group remains intact. United created several chances to level before the second goal ended their hopes.

“There’s a lot of things that can impact the group in a lot of ways,” Carrick 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 shows there’s an underlying spirit.”