The key facts

  • Manchester United kept Michael Carrick in his post after eight matches without a win
  • Tielemans: the team needs stability, not a 'sudden change'
  • Seven points from eight rounds — the club's worst start since 1986

Carrick stays at the helm

Manchester United have kept head coach Michael Carrick despite the crisis results, and one of the team's leaders has backed that decision. Midfielder Youri Tielemans, who joined the club from Aston Villa in the summer, believes the team needs stability rather than a 'sudden change' that would only deepen the discord — he said this on Friday on TNT Sports, AFP reports.

Context of the crisis

Pressure on Carrick intensified after the home defeat to Bournemouth, 0:3, last Sunday. That match was United's eighth in a row without a win, and the team slipped to just one point above the Premier League relegation zone. Many pundits expected the coach to be sacked, even though he had been given a two-year contract only five months earlier. Seven points from the first eight rounds is the club's worst league start since 1986 — that is, even before the Premier League era.

The player's position

Tielemans stressed his personal bond with the coach: 'I came here partly because of him, because he wanted me here, he wants me to help the team.' In his words, the whole group does not want 'a big change that would break things even more,' and they need to keep working hard so that the situation turns around at some point.

Criticism from Fernandes and dressing-room trust

At the same time, team captain Bruno Fernandes publicly criticised Carrick's tactics after the humiliating 1:4 defeat to Como in the Champions League. Tielemans, however, said in a comment to Viaplay that the coach retains 'the team's trust': Fernandes urged the players to keep working and to trust that everything will come right. United's next chance to turn things around is an away match against Chelsea on Saturday.