Lisandro Martínez has hit out at Manchester United’s hierarchy, blaming a lack of investment as their dismal start to the season continued. Goals from Pablo Barrios and Ademola Lookman pushed United to a 2-0 defeat against Atlético Madrid, and the Argentina defender described it as a “mirror” of the state of the club. “Tonight it’s easy to say the coach, easy to say the players but we also have to look at other areas,” he said, pointing his finger upwards.
Asked for his assessment of the evening, Martínez said: “Really poor, really poor. I have to control myself a lot but sometimes it’s a reflection of the mirror of how our club is at the moment.
“It’s boring, disappointing to come here and I don’t see my team trying to get an incredible result here.
“I expect more (investment), 100%. I expect more from our technical director (Jason Wilcox). I have to be honest, as players we need to do more but it’s also important when you build a strong team to be ready for this kind of night. Last season we did everything, we created the basis to create an incredible team.”
United won 12 of 17 games under Michael Carrick last season, but over the summer they made just three major signings – Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans – plus back-up goalkeeper Karl Darlow on a free transfer from Leeds, and have won just twice in all competitions so far this season. They have had the worst start to a league campaign in 40 years.
Asked if the coach had been supported enough, Martínez replied: “I don’t think so. He is doing his best. 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 it’s a big problem.
“You can’t keep changing, changing, changing managers. What about other areas?” » added Martínez, looking up. “I can’t say more.”
When Martínez’s words were directed to Carrick, he said: “I haven’t seen the interview. I’ve half heard about it. I think it’s a bit of the emotions of the game (talking). I need to know a little bit more about it to be honest and decide what’s going to be done and if anything is going to be done. I can’t comment further.”
The United boss also insisted his side were “almost one-on-one” and that he did not understand Leny Yoro’s red card on a night when they could have returned to Manchester with a different result. “It’s easy to look and think there’s something seriously wrong, I understand that, but the players have been great,” he said. “They’re willing and (they’re) disappointed that they didn’t come out of here with something. We think we could have, we should have.”
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