Lisandro Martinez Calls for More from Manchester United's Sporting Director

Tensions at Manchester United are rising following their 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Lisandro Martinez has delivered unusually direct criticism of the club's sporting leadership, specifically director Jason Wilcox, while defending manager Michael Carrick.

Martinez did not hide his disappointment after the defeat in Madrid. The Argentine described United's performance as “very poor” and said what happened on the pitch reflected, to some extent, the current state of the club.

After last season's strong performances, the players had expected Manchester United to take another step forward and strengthen the squad more significantly.

“I expect more from our sporting director,” Martinez said, referring to Jason Wilcox.

The defender also insisted that responsibility should not once again be placed solely on the manager.

“You cannot keep changing, changing, changing the manager. What about the other departments?”

The defeat against Atletico extended United's winless run to five consecutive matches in all competitions. The team have recorded only two victories since the start of the season and are experiencing their worst start to a league campaign in around 40 years.