Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United’s players “don’t need to save anyone’s job” after their improbable comeback win against Roma in the Champions League.
The Red Devils produced a remarkable second-half fightback to come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and end a run of nine games without a victory.
Fernandes was speaking to the media for the first time since being dropped to the bench after publicly criticising manager Michael Carrick’s tactics in the wake of their 4-1 loss at Como.
Restored to the team for the Premier League defeat by Chelsea, the 32-year-old’s penalty on 58 minutes sparked an incredible revival to ease some of the pressure on Carrick.
But when asked if the result would save his job, United captain Fernandes told Amazon Prime: “We don’t need to save anyone’s job.”
He continued: “The club needed that win, the players needed that win. We have been working so hard to get out of this situation all together.
“It’s been tough, there’s been a lot of speculation in the media. A lot of lies around many things that have happened between me and the manager, that we have cleared the air, then after that the manager took the decision to put me on the bench because I’m not performing.
“Everyone thought that was a punishment for the words that I had. If it was, it was right. The manager is the one who makes the decisions.
“It doesn’t change the belief I have of the manager and the staff and every player in this club. It doesn’t change my aim to win every game that I have ahead of me.”
Following Fernandes’ critical comments in Como, he was an unused substitute in the 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth, while it was reported that he and Carrick held clear-the-air talks before he returned to the starting line-up against Chelsea.
“In Bruno Fernandes’ defence, is that I’ve been in football a long time and what’s reported in the media is a fraction of the truth usually,” former Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“The amount of times I saw something written about the clubs I was playing in that couldn’t be further from the truth was absolutely staggering.
“I hope for Manchester United and Michael Carrick they can draw a line under all this public stuff and they can get back to winning games like they did today.”