Martinez 'fumes' at United's management

Madrid - AFP - Manchester United defender and Argentine international Lisandro Martinez launched sharp criticism at the club’s management over what he perceived as a lack of investment during the summer transfer window, following a 2-0 defeat to Spanish side Atletico Madrid in the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League.

With this loss, United have gone five matches across all competitions without a win (two draws and three defeats), and have recorded their worst start to a Premier League season in 40 years.

Speaking to Amazon Prime in response to a question about the team’s performance against Atletico Madrid, Martinez said: “The performance was very poor.” He added, “I have to keep myself in check a lot, but sometimes this reflects the current state of our club.”

Martinez insisted he had expected “100 percent” greater investment in the squad during the summer window, after Manchester United finished third last season, securing a return to Europe’s premier competition.

He continued: “I expect more from our manager (Jason Wilcox), frankly, in terms of players. We have to put in more effort, but it is also important that when building a strong team, it is ready for matches like this.”

Pressure on manager Michael Carrick is mounting after five winless games, but Martinez indicated that sacking the English coach is not the solution.

He added: “You can’t keep changing the manager. What about the other positions? I can’t say more.”

He went on: “It’s easy to blame the manager, and it’s easy to blame the players, but we also need to look at other aspects.”

United spent approximately $185 million on summer transfers, signing Cameroonian midfielder Carlos Baleba, Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans, and Brazilian Andre Santos. However, fans were frustrated by the club’s failure to strengthen other positions, including left-back and striker.

Speaking to journalists after the match, Carrick said he had not heard Martinez’s comments and therefore could not judge them. He added: “I think it’s somewhat related to the emotions of the match and the feeling of disappointment at not getting a positive result.”

In a related development, former United and England striker Wayne Rooney commented on Martinez’s criticism: “I think he perhaps exaggerated a bit, and it would have been better to keep it internal.” He continued: “Clearly, he is interested and wants the club to invest more money in new players. To achieve that, perhaps he is one of the players who will leave, if he is being honest.”