‘Angry’ Martinez points blame in Man United during room after Bournemouth loss
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez pointed the finger at his team-mates after a disastrous 3-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Dean Huijsen put the Cherries in front before Justin Kluivert doubled their advantage from the spot. Antoine Semenyo piled on the misery by bagging a third as Ruben Amorim suffered his worst defeat since taking over in November.
The Portuguese has only collected seven points from his first six games in charge and his side are leaking goals at a worrying rate.
Despite that, Martinez appeared to shift the blame to his team-mates further up the pitch after United blanked in front of their disappointed fans – and the Argentinian admitted there were some furious faces in the United dressing room.
“We are so angry with this kind of situation,” Martinez said. “We have to work on set-pieces especially. I believe a lot in this team and staff.
“If they don’t score their first goal from set-pieces then it is a totally different game. We missed many chances today. We have to score. We know what we have to do and we have to change quickly.”
The 27-year-old, who has featured in 14 Premier League games this season, has been criticised for his recent performances. And the Argentina international conceded he and his team-mates must keep believing results will turn around eventually.
“I always say in this kind of situation we have to show personality and character,” he added. “We are playing so well and unfortunately, we couldn’t score today. We have to believe. At this club, we have to win every game and we know that.
“We know how big it is at this club. The expectation is very high, it’s a process and you can see we are playing so well but we also concede goals and we have to work on that. I know the fans are impatient with us. We are the only ones who can change it.
“It’s football and we have to accept it. We are 100 per cent confident that we will get success in this club. It’s a process, I don’t want to point the finger at one player.
“We win together, we lose together. It is a big pressure but we love that. I believe a lot in this group.”
The result means United will carry on languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table in 13th beyond Christmas Day – the first time that has happened since the 1989-90 campaign.
Amorim’s men travel to Molineux on Boxing Day for a clash against relegation-threatened Wolves, who ironically won their first game under new coach Vitor Pereira with a 3-0 away win against Leicester.
But the 39-year-old insisted he did not expect an easy ride in his first few months at Old Trafford and was tight-lipped on whether Marcus Rashford would return to the squad after being left out again.
“I always expected [job to be tough], especially in these busy months. We are ready to face the challenge,” he said, before adding “we’ll see” when quizzed about Rashford.