UEFA Champions League: Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick has said the club have moved on from the controversy surrounding defender Lisandro Martinez after the Argentina international apologised for his remarks criticising the club’s hierarchy following their UEFA Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Martinez questioned the club’s investment in the squad after United’s defeat on Tuesday, suggesting that Carrick had been left with an under-equipped team and calling for greater action from technical director Jason Wilcox. The 28-year-old later acknowledged that his comments were made out of frustration and apologised following a meeting with the club’s leadership and the manager.
Carrick said the matter had been resolved and insisted there was no lingering tension within the squad ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Leeds United at Elland Road.
“It’s done, really. We’ve moved on from that. It’s one of those things. Licha has come out and acknowledged the situation, and, as a group, we have moved on. There’s no drama for us as a group,” Carrick said during his pre-match press conference on Friday.
The United head coach said the team had responded positively in training and that the atmosphere within the squad remained encouraging despite the club’s recent results. “We’ve trained really well this morning; there’s a really good feeling around the squad. They’re in really good spirits and trained really well,” he said.
Carrick added that the discussions with Martinez had been straightforward, with the defender acknowledging that he had made a mistake by expressing his frustration publicly.
“We all understood the situation and what it meant. Licha has given a statement and acknowledged that it was a mistake on his part. “That was it, really,” he said.
Martinez had issued a public apology after meeting the club’s leadership and Carrick. In his statement, the defender admitted that the frustration of the defeat had prompted him to express his views at an inappropriate time and place.
Carrick said the incident had not affected the team’s togetherness and pointed to the quality of the latest training session as a positive sign ahead of the Leeds fixture.
“There is a really good feeling within the group, within the club, from the inside. Results-wise, it has not gone to plan, but the spirit and togetherness, again, I said it, but today was one of the best training sessions we have had,” Carrick said.
“We understand the situation that came up after the game, but we feel that has been dealt with, and we’ve moved on. There was a freshness about the group today that I really liked.”
Carrick also confirmed that Martinez would travel with the squad for Sunday’s match, with the defender available for selection.
“We understand the situation that came up after the game, but we feel that has been dealt with, and we’ve moved on. There was a freshness about the group today that I really liked.”
Article Source: IANS
