Playing for Manchester United where, at present, the difficulties don’t seem to end cannot be easy and centre-back Lisandro Martinez, who has been with the club since July 2022, has just come out and let the world know what he thinks. When a player comes out after a loss and has a go at the club leadership, it always grabs attention.
The United captain has played every minute of United’s first six Premier League games, with three goals and one assist. but all four of his contributions came in the second match against Ipswich, the only game that United have won this season. “I would have to be honest, as the players, we have to do more, but it’s just important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night. After six games in the Premier League, Manchester United are currently placed in sixth spot with just one win. But Lisandro wasn’t ready to see his manager getting all the blame, as he pointed out United hadn’t been able to recruit the right players to fight for the big titles. This turnaround earned him the permanent job. However, after the initial surge, United have struggled, with just one Premier League win, an early exit from the EFL Cup, and no real chance in the UCL.
Even with the advantage of having one man extra after the opposition were reduced to 10, United have failed to produce a win – a 0-1 loss to Man City and a 1-1 draw vs Spurs. The 0-2 loss to Atletico in the Champions League on Tuesday would have only piled on the pressure on Carrick. After sacking Ruben Amorim in January 2026, United brought back their former midfielder Carrick as interim manager, and he had an immediate impact. He led the Red Devils to 11 wins in 16 games and secured a third-place finish. The current run of form has also been hampered by the poor form of 2025-26 Player of the Season Bruno Fernandes.
“I expect more from our technical director,” said Martinez.
United’s problems are far from new. The glory days are long gone, and they often look like a mid-table side. The pressure on the manager to get results is immense. It’s not the case any more where you’d go into a season as title contenders; their battle is now simply to finish in the top four and get a ticket to the European competitions. They would have imagined that after the third-place finish in the Premier League table last season, this season would have seen a further step-up. But the start has been anything but that.
