Harry Maguire says Manchester United have put Lisandro Martinez’s criticism of the club behind them as they try to recover from a poor start to the season.
Martinez made a strong assessment of United’s leadership after their 2-0 Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid last week. The Argentina international questioned whether the squad was capable of competing in Europe and criticised technical director Jason Wilcox and the club’s owners.
The defender later apologised for his comments and used social media to clarify that responsibility for the team’s results ultimately rested with the players.
Michael Carrick selected Martinez for Sunday’s meeting with Leeds United, which ended in a 1-1 draw, but he was substituted at half-time after suffering an injury. Noussair Mazraoui replaced him.
“There has obviously been a lot of noise around the club in the past week, as there is every week, but more so in the past week,” Maguire told Sky Sports when asked about Martinez.
“Lisandro has come out and apologised. We have moved on from it.
“He played, and I thought he was brilliant in the first half. Credit to him. Fingers crossed that he hasn’t picked up a serious injury, and we can have him back.”
United have won only one of their seven Premier League matches this season, drawing four and losing two. It is their lowest number of victories after seven games in a top-flight campaign since 1986-87, when they had also won once.
Their only victory in all competitions since September 10 came against Azerbaijani minnows Sabah in the Champions League. Cesc Fabregas’ Como are their next opponents.
United’s away record in the Champions League is also a concern. They have won just one of their past 10 matches on the road in the competition, drawing three and losing six, while keeping only one clean sheet in their last 15 away games.
Maguire was also asked whether Martinez’s comments had damaged the atmosphere inside the dressing room.
“When you play for this club it is always tested, especially when you’re not winning football matches,” he said.
“We haven’t played anywhere near well enough to win as many football matches as we did last season.
“We get tested every week, and the boys have got to get used to that. They’ve got to find something within themselves to help the group.
“We’ll stick together, we’ll go again. We have got another big game on Wednesday, and we look forward to it.”
