Michael Carrick has weathered the storm at Manchester United ahead of Saturday afternoon's clash against Chelsea.

Youri Tielemans has insisted that Michael Carrick 'definitely' has the backing of the Manchester United squad ahead of this weekend's clash against Chelsea. The Red Devils are winless in eight games across all competitions, so Xabi Alonso's side will be eager to pile on the misery at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

Naturally, having not won a Premier League game since the end of August, the United boss has faced an uncertain future. Despite criticism from Bruno Fernandes, too, who publicly questioned the tactics, Carrick has been backed by the sporting leadership team.

In an interview with TNT Sports ahead of this weekend's clash with the Blues, Tielemans has leapt to the defence of his boss, claiming he and the squad ' do not want a sudden change' and need 'stability.

"I came here partly because of him, because he wanted me here," said the United midfielder, who swapped Villa Park for Old Trafford in the summer. "He wanted me to help the team out.

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"So I’m very happy for him to stay, and the whole group, we don't want a sudden change. We don't want a big change that is going to disrupt things more than they are. We just need stability, we need to keep working hard, and it’s going to turn at some point."

Tielemans added: "Since I’ve come in, he’s always done his work. He’s tried to put a system in place that we all feel comfortable in. I joined this summer because he convinced me to come over and help the team out.

"I can only speak positively about him, and everyone in the changing room would do the same. We all just need to stick together and turn this situation around."

When quizzed on the challenges he's faced in the build-up to this weekend's clash against Chelsea, Carrick told TNT Sports: "Honestly, there's not a hardest thing about it. It's a great position to be in.

"I love being in this position, I love the responsibility and having an element of control of trying to make a difference, and trying to guide this club in a certain direction.

"I still enjoy it. I know people question that at times, but I certainly do enjoy it. I still enjoyed this week as much as ever because that's when we've got to dig deep as a group and see sticking together as part of it.

"It doesn’t change the motivation, and it doesn't change what we want to achieve. We can still be close to flipping things and moving forward."

Carrick added: "I don't need any assurances for anything, really. I totally understand what’s needed here, so I don’t need any assurances from anybody. I’m just focused on winning games, and winning this one on Saturday..."