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Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens insisted that, despite feeling "very frustrated" with the team's dismal run of results, the dressing room remains "all together behind" manager Michael Carrick.
Just one week after Lisandro Martínez publicly criticized the club's hierarchy, captain Bruno Fernandes directed his frustration at the coaching staff. United's vocal skipper aggressively tore into Carrick's approach following Wednesday's humiliating 4–1 Champions League loss to Como, taking aim at the decision not to press the hosts.
United have so far resisted pressure to dismiss Carrick, who has managed only two wins from 11 matches this season and is currently enduring a seven-game run without a victory. Potential managerial candidates reportedly considering a move to Old Trafford have been deterred by a squad widely regarded as "out of control."
Lammens was eager to offer a contrasting perspective.
"I think it's easy to see maybe after a game when players are very frustrated—and I get it, I'm very frustrated as well because we all really want to do better and we all want to win—and then we might say sometimes things we don't really mean or fully explain what we mean," the goalkeeper told Sky Sports this week.
"Of course, the people at home can't see that, so we need to also try to look like that when we are on the pitch in the weekend, but I can assure you that we're doing everything we can and we're all together behind the coach, as a staff, players, front office.
'100%'—Carrick Takes Clear Stance on Outspoken Set of Players
Despite high-profile outbursts from both Martínez and Fernandes in recent weeks, along with the noticeably underwhelming performances on the field from the rest of his squad, Carrick maintains "100%" faith in his players.
"I definitely trust them, yeah, 100% I trust them," Carrick told reporters ahead of Sunday's crucial encounter with Bournemouth. "It wasn't a very good night at all [in Como] for so many reasons. We all know that. I think that's pretty obvious. I definitely trust them."
Carrick dismissed suggestions that Manchester United are "unmanageable" and struck an optimistic tone when previewing the upcoming Premier League fixture. "We'll be a different team on Sunday," he pledged, "we have to be a different team on Sunday."
Man Utd's Tactical Conundrum
United recorded the best results across the final 17 Premier League fixtures of last season under Carrick's stewardship, yet have managed only a single top-flight win against newly promoted Ipswich Town this campaign. Lammens, however, doesn't believe the performances have dropped off as sharply as the results suggest.
"Last season I felt like, playing-wise, maybe we played sometimes better this season, but last season everything just clicked and went the right way for us," the goalkeeper argued.
The challenge for United, as it has been for many of Carrick's predecessors, is a stalled evolution. "As a counter team a bit more last season we did really well, but you also know—I think everybody knew—that we had to improve as well from that, that teams were going to change the way they played against us," Lammens outlined.
That development has attempted to manifest through a higher pressing game. Yet, whether due to a failure in coaching, commitment, execution or a combination of all these factors, United have simply been unable to consistently unsettle opponents in advanced areas. If anything, the attempt to win possession high up the pitch has left United vulnerable defensively, with far too much space opening up between the attacking, midfield and defensive lines.
• Man Utd vs. Bournemouth: Preview, Predictions and Lineups
Given Como's proficiency at playing through organized pressing structures, Carrick's hesitance to send his players blindly chasing the ball is somewhat understandable. What remains harder to explain is why United still failed to hold a compact defensive shape even without the added demands of pressing.
Ahead of Sunday's showdown with Bournemouth, Carrick was determined to steer the conversation away from the tactical debate. "We've won a lot of games over a period of time and this pressing thing—that suddenly everyone thinks about pressing: pressing is one small part of football," the manager scoffed.
"There's all sorts of different ways of what people class as a press. What actually is it? What are you doing it for? Is it to your strength? Is it covering up other spaces? It's just thrown about as a bit of a word at the minute. You don't necessarily need to press to win games of football. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't."