On the subject of Lisandro Martinez being on the bench again, Carrick said he was "not quite" fit enough to start. "It was touch and go," he explained, and it just wasn't worth the total risk. Ayden's been ill for the start of the week, and he's played well when he's played for us. I'm happy with the team. I think we've got a really strong team; we've got strong options coming off the bench, so we need a good performance and a good result today."

Gary Neville called Fernandes' comments "devastating", saying: "It's a direct attack on the manager. If you go back 25 years, these players would never be anywhere near the club, never mind the pitch; they'd be gone, finished, but Manchester United aren't in that position anymore, and neither is Michael Carrick.

"I was supportive last week of Lisandro Martinez playing; I thought it was handled well because there's no defender; the ones who are there aren't good enough, and he got a public apology. I don't think there is any way that Carrick can start Fernandes today.

"I've no idea if he is going to start, but when I saw Carrick's face on Friday, you could see in his eyes that he was going to embark on something that would bring this to a head. It was a horrible press conference to watch; it was very emotional.

"The two most prominent players in the team - a World Cup winner and the PFA Player of the Year - coming out and hammering the owners, hammering the sporting director and criticising the manager, all in the space of a week means the players have completely gone. But there are a number of these players who have been a wrecking ball through managers for the last three or four years, and it looks like, unfortunately, it's happening again.

"When you're starting to have to justify the values of this football club, citing [Wayne] Rooney, [Sir Matt] Busby, [Sir Alex] Ferguson, that message can only be to the players. Millions around the world don't need reminding of what Manchester United is. If you're having to remind them of history, values and personality traits to play for this club, you're at a pretty low point."

Jamie Carragher agreed, saying: "He's Manchester United's best player, but he had to make a stand, Michael Carrick. You're hoping, 'could this bring us together as a group?' Even though he's the best player, there'll be a lot of people who don't actually like playing with him in the Manchester United team because he's permanently throwing his arms up at people; he's basically saying, 'you're not good enough to play with me'."