Man Utd midfielder Kobbie Mainoo spoke ahead of the club's Champions League fixture with Roma at Old Trafford.

Kobbie Mainoo urged his Manchester United teammates to fight for Michael Carrick "on and off the pitch" to repay the head coach's support in recent weeks.

Carrick has tried to shield the squad from criticism during a dismal run of nine games without a victory, only losing his cool after a woeful Champions League defeat to Como last month.

Despite that, he has been let down by senior players both in terms of performance and, at times, externally, with Lisandro Martinez critical of the club's hierarchy in one interview, while Bruno Fernandes took aim at Carrick's tactics in Como.

Mainoo missed that defeat and only returned from four games out with a cameo at Chelsea on Saturday, but the 21-year-old is set to return to the side against Roma on Tuesday and he wants a united front around the club's under-pressure head coach.

"Yeah, of course," Mainoo said when asked if the players appreciate Carrick trying to shield them. "I feel like our way to repay that is to also be behind the manager on the pitch and off it, and fight for us and fight for us as a team.

"It's been a tough season. We haven't had the results we wanted, but you know we need to look forward now. There are big, big games ahead, and I feel like we're one win away from changing that.

"I've been at this club for a long time and I know there's always going to be ups and downs, you know. It's never going to be plain sailing and smooth to the top. So you expect bumps and what the best thing about them is you're able to bounce back from them."

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Mainoo missed the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth in United's last game at Old Trafford, when the Stretford End turned on the players at full-time.

The crowd had earlier unveiled a banner that just read 'Standards', but Mainoo understands the frustration from the supporters and, as a United fan and academy graduate, he insists his teammates also understand what playing for the club means.

"In these tough times you can't expect the fans 100,000% of the time to be happy and cheering when we're not putting out results," he said. "And we owe it to them to put the results out there for them to cheer again.

"United's a huge club, so I think a lot of people know the values that this club holds and that've been passed down through the people who've worked here and who've played here.

"I feel like I take some responsibility in that and in spreading the word of what is Manchester United, coming up through the academy. And I plan to send that message for as long as I can."

Carrick is under significant scrutiny at Old Trafford after overseeing a start to the season that has produced just two wins in 13 games, while United are now nine without a victory, their worst run in all competitions since 1988.

But the 45-year-old oversaw a dramatic improvement in form when he replaced Ruben Amorim back in January and part of that was built around restoring Mainoo to the side, after the youngster had been cast aside by the Portuguese head coach. Mainoo has plenty to thank Carrick for and believes he has improved as a player under his guidance.

"I'm very grateful to the boss for putting the trust in me as soon as he came in, and putting that belief in me and giving me all the advice that he has," he said.

"Knowing he's a player who's been at this club and knows the history of this club and knows what it takes to win, I take those words to heart and I try and apply them every day in training and in games.

"I've tried to take on more responsibility in the team. I want to impose myself more in games and they've definitely helped to do that, giving me more responsibility with taking the ball. There's been ups and downs, but after continuing to try and again, I have belief in myself and like I say, impose myself on games even in these tough times.