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Manchester United's 3-2 win over Roma came at a time when Michael Carrick's position as manger was under immense pressure after every game. The victory ended United's nine-match winless run, giving some breathing room to both the manager and the players.
Captain Bruno Fernandes, however, made it clear that the players were not going out to save the manager's job, while also expressing his backing for Carrick.
"We don’t need to save anyone’s job. The club needed that win, the players needed that win," Fernandes said while speaking to Amazon Prime Video after the match.
Fernandes got United's comeback underway with a penalty. His first attempt was saved by Roma's third-choice goalkeeper Devis Vasquez, but the visitors were penalised for encroachment, giving the United captain another chance. Fernandes made no mistake the second time, smashing the ball home to bring the team back into the game.
The Manchester United skipper opened up about the difficult period at the club, hitting out at media speculation about an alleged rift between him and the manager, which he asserted was not true.
"It’s been tough, a lot of speculation in the media, a lot of lies around many things that happened at this club between me and the manager," he added.
The midfielder also spoke about being left out of the starting XI for United's Premier League clash against Bournemouth, which ended in a 3-0 defeat. The captain accepted the manager's decision, admitting that his performances had not been good enough.
"The manager took a decision of putting me on the bench, because I wasn’t performing, and that's fair," Fernandes said.
Fernandes also addressed the rumours that getting dropped was a punishment for his earlier comments. The United captain said he had no problem accepting the manager's decision and insisted it had not changed his faith in the manager or his determination to win every game.
"Everyone felt that was a punishment for the words that I had [said], and if it was, it was right. The manager is the one that makes the decisions. I have to accept them, I have to go forward with that. It doesn’t change the belief I have in the manager and the staff, and it doesn’t change my aim to win every f****** game I have ahead of me," he added.