Michael Carrick hit back at captain Bruno Fernandes after the Manchester United skipper blasted a 'decision from staff' following the Red Devils' lamentable defeat at Como.

United were hammered 4-1 by Cesc Fabregas' side in a result that has plunged Carrick's future into doubt. His team have won just twice in 11 games so far this term.

Fernandes said the coaching staff had opted not to adopt a man-to-man marking policy in the game, suggesting it contributed to the heavy defeat.

"It's a decision from the staff to not press man to man and sometimes leave a bit of space in behind and then try to get the ball in the first moment to wait for them, to give them the ball," the Portuguese captain told TNT Sports.

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"But sometimes when you give too much the ball [away] to these teams, they get confident, they have so many bodies behind the ball that make you run a lot which makes people get frustrated.

"And then, when we recover the ball, the legs and the brain are much more difficult to make it work."

But Carrick has hit back, suggesting Fernandes' comments are not accurate. "We actually half-pressed man-to-man the second half and then conceded a goal from that," he said.

"And there's a little bit on whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don't run, and you don't run forward, and you don't run back, you ain't going to win."

Carrick took aim at his side's effort, while accepting the buck stops with him.

"We might win, we might lose, but the way we went about it tonight, I wouldn't say everyone, but the way we went about it in some ways tonight wasn't acceptable. And I just wanted to let the fans know that I feel for them, for sure," he added.

"It wasn't just the goals, if I'm totally honest. It was the manner and the way we played at times, in the way we went about it, that was the difficult thing to watch for me.

"It's not about playing for me, it's about playing for this football club. It's the responsibility that comes with being in the position; I'm responsible for the football club and the supporters.

"I'm giving my best, absolute best all the time, I care about it. My whole life's wrapped around it. I genuinely give everything that I possibly can."