Roy Keane has become the most senior former United voice to turn on the club since Lisandro Martinez used an Amazon Prime microphone on Tuesday to publicly attack Manchester United’s hierarchy.
Speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, the former United captain delivered his verdict on the state of the club.
“I think as a reflection of the club, it’s obviously chaos there, like a bit of a circus,” Keane said.
His criticism of Martinez himself was harsher still, with Keane questioning why a player short of form had chosen a live post-match interview to take aim at the people above him.
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“When you’re going through a difficult spell like United are, the issue I have with certain players saying things is you always have to start with the man in the mirror before you start coming out with all these comments,” Keane said.
“I don’t see him as a senior player at Manchester United. I see him as a centre-half who’s making lots of mistakes.”
The outburst at the Metropolitano
The storm was triggered on Tuesday night at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, where goals from Pablo Barrios and Ademola Lookman, either side of a Leny Yoro red card, completed a 2-0 defeat that extended United’s winless run to five matches.
Martinez, whose contract expires at the end of the season, did not wait for the dressing room before letting go. His post-match interview with Amazon Prime singled out technical director Jason Wilcox and questioned the summer’s recruitment.
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“I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it’s a reflection of how our club is at the moment,” Martinez said. “We had a fantastic season last season, and now we expect more from the top, from upstairs, to bring in more players to compete because many teams have brought in many players as well.”
According to Sky Sports, at least one teammate confronted Martinez over the comments as the squad boarded the plane back to Manchester.
Instagram statement, no apology
By Wednesday evening Martinez had issued a statement on Instagram that clarified the mood without retreating from the substance.
“After the match, I spoke out of anger and frustration at not getting the result we all wanted,” he wrote.
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“I believe in my team-mates, our manager and everyone working to help this club move forward.”
Gary Neville, Keane’s co-pundit on Stick to Football, took the same view on the podcast.
“I’ve got a problem with this from a player’s perspective. That is a direct attack on the players you are playing with,” Neville said.
Carrick’s caretaker job under pressure
Interim head coach Michael Carrick is now overseeing a side that has not won in five matches, and Keane questioned whether the caretaker should be kept on in the summer.
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“I think you can get a better manager than Carrick, absolutely. But I think he’s doing a good job, perfect timing for him,” Keane said.
Antonio Conte, the former Chelsea and Tottenham manager, has emerged as a candidate, though transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano has said United are not planning anything immediate.
“Nothing last minute, nothing like tonight or in the morning or in the next hours, is expected at Manchester United in terms of managerial changes,” Romano said.
United travel to Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday, 18 October, kick-off at 2pm local time.
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