Gary Neville has claimed Michael Carrick has lost the Manchester United dressing room after captain Bruno Fernandes publicly questioned the manager’s tactics.
Carrick’s position at Old Trafford has come under mounting pressure following consecutive defeats by Como and Bournemouth. Despite expectations that he would be dismissed this week, he remains in charge.
Neville questions Carrick’s authority at Manchester United
Neville, the former United defender and prominent pundit, said Fernandes’s comments after the 4-1 defeat by Como suggested that the criticism inside the squad was likely to be far more severe.
“We’ve all been in football dressing rooms, and they’re quite brutal places,” Neville said on his podcast, Stick to Football.
He added: “If Bruno Fernandes, the captain of the club… if he comes out and questions the manager’s tactics after a 4-1 defeat in Como, where he’s played like a drain, and he’s been playing like a drain for three months, and the rest of them have as well, that is only 1 or 2% of what they’re actually saying internally.”
Neville has previously made clear that he believes Carrick should leave his role. His latest comments indicate that he feels the manager’s authority within the squad has been seriously damaged.
Jamie Carragher, Neville’s co-host, was more direct in his assessment of the situation.
“Those players know Michael Carrick’s not going to be there in two or three weeks. He knows it, they know it, everybody knows it,” Carragher said.
United now face uncertainty over how to recover from the recent defeats while Carrick remains in charge at Old Trafford.
