Michael Carrick will be in charge of Manchester United against Bournemouth on Sunday, but there is growing concern among club bosses about the team's poor run of form. There is a feeling both inside and outside Old Trafford that Sunday's Premier League match could be pivotal in determining Carrick's future. No decision has been taken about plans beyond Sunday as things stand following Tuesday's 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League.
Bruno Fernandes will not be stripped of the captaincy in light of his criticism of the United coaching staff and is unlikely to face any punishment for his comments after the crushing defeat in Italy. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player There is a feeling within the Carrington training ground that the performance and result in the Champions League on Wednesday night was unacceptable - as Carrick himself said after the match. There is sympathy for Carrick when it comes to the injury problems he is dealing with, and many United supporters agreed with Lisandro Martinez's outspoken views of last week, when he said the squad is not strong enough to compete at the top level.
Martinez levelled the criticism at the United hierarchy, not the head coach. But it is clear United's bosses feel that, despite those factors, the squad is stronger than it was last season when Carrick secured a third-placed Premier League finish, and so far this season the team has woefully underperformed. United's directors assessed and interviewed a host of other candidates in January as part of their due diligence before appointing Carrick, and while it is thought there has been no formal contact with those candidates recently, such discussions cannot be ruled out in the coming days.
Fernandes will not be stripped of the Manchester United captaincy and is unlikely to be disciplined by the club following his criticism of the coaching staff and the tactics in the 4-1 defeat to Como. Sky Sports News has been told that, while there is disappointment within the club with what last season's PFA Player of the Year said post-match, the wider feeling is that he was voicing an understandable frustration and anger at the manner of the defeat. A string of ex-professionals have lined up to criticise Fernandes, with Jamie Carragher calling him "an absolute disgrace".
In his own post-match news conference, head coach Carrick responded to his captain's comments by saying: "If you don't run back, you ain't going to win." Jamie Carragher has criticised Fernandes for questioning Man Utd's tactics following their defeat to Como, but believes that it could be the end of the line for Carrick. Fernandes questioned the decision to not press Como man-to-man post-match, while Carrick responded in his press conference by saying "if you don't run back, you ain't going to win". "We said Lisandro Martinez was bang out of order for calling out the hierarchy," Carragher said on CBS Sports.
"For Bruno Fernandes to do that, it is a disgrace. Last season he was Player of the Year. That was due to Michael Carrick coming in as manager.
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