For Michael Carrick’s last stand, he made a stand: dropping Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes after his outspoken comments and steadfastly keeping him on the bench, even though the game at home to Bournemouth on Sunday was being disastrously lost 3-0.

Except it has not turned out to be Carrick’s last stand. Instead, improbably and perhaps unwisely from the United hierarchy, he is allowed to limp on and will be in charge against Chelsea, away, on Saturday.

So what does Carrick do with Fernandes? The Portuguese called out Carrick’s tactics after the humiliating 4-1 Champions League defeat away to Como last Wednesday.

It prompted Carrick to hit back and drop Fernandes. If he was going out, Carrick was going out on his own terms and the midfielder needed to know his place. Authority had to be exerted, Sir Alex Ferguson-style.

The fact that Fernandes is actually correct – United do not press enough, the movement is not good enough, they are too passive – is immaterial. Yes, the 32-year-old has the right to express those opinions, not least because he is captain, but not live on television. Not to throw the under-pressure manager under a bus. Not to deflect blame and show an appalling lack of unity.

Fernandes’s criticisms are valid. They are even shared within United. Analysts and technical staff are frustrated by the approach taken by Carrick and Steve Holland, his assistant. United simply do not appear to work hard enough. Tactically, they are not good enough.

So, Fernandes has the right to say what he thinks. And maybe he felt, as captain, he had even more of a right and was speaking on behalf of the team.

But that should happen on the training pitches, in the meeting rooms and analysis suites or the manager’s office. Not on TNT Sports after an appalling Champions League performance and in the middle of a season that is imploding, when he knew it would only make things harder for Carrick. Maybe he just wants him out?

It is great for us, for the media, for the public, and gives further insight into the crisis that is once again gripping the club. But Carrick could not let that one go and so Fernandes was rightly dropped, even if Carrick claimed it was a “football decision”.

Was it a failed gamble? United lost heavily to Bournemouth and that might well have been that for Carrick. And probably should have been.

The statistics suggest United struggle without Fernandes, winning just one of their previous 10 Premier League games without him in the starting XI and losing six of them.

But Fernandes has not been playing well this season, so would his presence on the pitch have made any difference? He is the reigning PFA Player of the Year but is a pale shadow of the player who won that award. This season he has three goals and an assist, but they all came in one game: the victory over newly promoted Ipswich Town. That match is United’s only league win so far and was the second game of the season.

As with Marcus Rashford, who is suffering from a persistent hip issue, in mitigation there are doubts over Fernandes’s fitness. He rarely misses a game, but it was illuminating that he was left out of Portugal’s recent Nations League tie against Norway, with Jorge Jesus, the coach, saying he was “playing through pain”.

Carrick’s response? “Players play with issues. It is not ideal but it is manageable.” Unfortunately, it appears frustrated Fernandes’s main issue is with Carrick. Not his own body.

Fernandes might argue that his criticism was said in the heat of the moment, straight after an embarrassing defeat, even if he had already been substituted before the end and had time to ponder – or stew – on what to say. But he is a highly experienced player who has done hundreds of such “flash” (immediate) interviews before. So, there really is no excuse.

Maybe Carrick also felt he had to put his foot down as it came in the wake of criticism – albeit aimed at Jason Wilcox, director of football – from Lisandro Martínez following another Champions League defeat the previous week. Carrick may have reasoned enough is enough, especially as it was now coming from the captain. The dressing room was running wild.

But what now? Fernandes’s way back into the United team is obvious. Carrick has made his point by dropping him. It would be vindictive and foolhardy if Carrick continued to leave him out – that is not in his nature – but one big thing must happen before Fernandes comes back into the fold. And that is an apology.

It does not have to be made publicly, it is not about self-flagellation or faux sorriness. Instead, Fernandes, in front of the United squad, needs to apologise to Carrick for the way he expressed his criticism.

He can have the argument about tactics. He does not have to back down on that. Just do not do it in this way as it undermines the man who, on the pitch, he is supposed to represent and be a lieutenant for. Otherwise, offer to give up the armband.

A lack of loyalty is not endearing. Especially as it begins to look like self-preservation, distancing oneself from a doomed manager, rather than leading the team.

If that apology does not happen, Carrick needs to continue to exclude Fernandes. Otherwise, he loses further credibility in the eyes of the players. Leaving him out for one game looks tokenistic and Fernandes wins and Carrick loses.

Principles are there to be maintained. Whatever the circumstances. Whatever the adversity. If Stamford Bridge is now to be Carrick’s last stand, then he needs to go out his way, with his head held high. Not bowing to player power. And Fernandes needs to acknowledge that.