Manchester United boss Michael Carrick has fired back at Bruno Fernandes after the skipper’s claim in the media that their tactics were aiding the opposition, with a brutal warning that they play for the shirt, not just me, as the ill feeling at the club threatens to boil over.

The Red Devils’ poor start to the season sank to a new low on Wednesday night when they were destroyed 4-1 by Italian side Como in the Champions League, with a beauty from Nico Paz with just two minutes on the clock setting the tone for another underwhelming display from the Premier League giants.

The truth is, United could barely lay a glove on Cesc Fabregas’ side all night, and that loss, which has now seen United go seven games without a win and win just two of 11 games all season, proved all too much for Fernandes.

Speaking to the media after the game, Fernandes appeared to blame Carrick for the defeat, questioning his tactics and suggesting their lack of a press on their opponents allowed them to play at their tempo.

Needless to say Carrick was far too happy at the performance, let alone Fernandes’ comments to the media, and the United boss – looking himself very downbeat in his press conference – was quick to respond to questions that he now faces the sack.

However, he has also since made it clear to Fernandes that he will not tolerate the washing of dirty linen in public and has taken his own little sideswipe at the player.

Hitting back at the accusations, and with more than a little snipe at his players, Carrick said: “We actually half pressed man to man in the second half and then conceded a goal from that, is a little bit on whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, but if you don’t run, you don’t run forward, you don’t run back, you aren’t going to win.”

Carrick on Man Utd: Players must play for the shirt

The United boss, almost looking a little bleary-eyed and clearly emotional at what had played out, did at least manage to keep his emotions in check.

However, he did make it clear that, regardless of who was in charge or was calling the shots, the players have a responsibility to give their maximum to the shirt and the football club.

Asked if he thinks the players are playing for him – often the first sign that a manager is facing the dreaded axe when they’re not – Carrick replied: “It shouldn’t be me; it’s not about playing for me, it’s about playing for this football club. It’s the responsibility that comes with it.

“Whether I’m in the position, I’m responsible for the football club and the supporters. I’m giving my best, absolute best, all the time, care about it, my whole life is wrapped around it.

“Listen, it might go well, it might not go so well, but I’ve genuinely when you give everything that I possibly can. It’s really not about me, it’s about what we all give as staff for this football club.

Asked whether he felt the players cared about the club’s fortunes as much as he does, Carrick replied: “I would like to think so, I didn’t like what I saw tonight, though.”

And when questioned how he and his players can navigate these choppy waters, he added: “First of all, I have to apologise to the supporters. I went over at the end. I care about this football club as much as anyone, if not more. I know the position that I’m in, and that I value this football club. For us to play in that way, it’s not acceptable.”

He continued: “It wasn’t a good performance at all. We wanted to build on what we brought to Leeds and the performance that we had at Leeds. That bit of intensity, that aggression, that real willingness to give everything tonight was totally the opposite of the performance. I have to say it was tough to watch.”

Carrick plays down Ole Gunnar Solskjaer comparison

On what was going through his mind as he watched his side labour to go 4-0 down, before netting a late consolation, Carrick stated:

“There’s a lot coming through my mind, watching that. Genuinely, it’s difficult to understand how it can be so different. It shouldn’t be like that; we can all play well, we can all have poor performances, but to do it in that manner is really not right at all.”

Carrick also went over to the visiting fans to offer some sort of apology for the performance, and many have drawn comparisons to the final farewell issued by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, ironically also after a 4-1 humbling (at Watford).

But Carrick explained: “I always go to the fans anyway regarding this. It wasn’t a particularly different kind of reason why I went over. I think it’s the appreciation and the acknowledgement of what they’ve gone through, and they have done over a few weeks now, but particularly tonight.

“I think, as I said, I was one of them; I’m feeling the same as them, for them to make the effort and spend the money and come and hope for something. We’ve got a lot of values in this football club and what we represent and how we want to go about it.”

“We might win, we might lose, but the way we went about it tonight, I wouldn’t say everyone, but the way we went about it in some ways tonight was unacceptable, and I have got to let the fans know that. I feel for them for sure.”

Asked whether he feels frustrated and let down by his players, Carrick responded: “Yeah, I don’t take it personally; it’s everything’s wrapped around the football club, what you do, your behaviours and how you perform and how you go about it. More importantly, it’s a responsibility to represent this football club. I’m in the position, yeah, of course I am, and I’ve played that with real privilege.

“But it’s about the football club, you know, and what we represent and the supporters. It wasn’t just the goals, I’m totally honest, you know, it wasn’t just the goals. It was the manner and the way we played at times, and the way we went about it was a difficult thing to watch for me.”

Amid all that, a journalist has now named the favourite to take charge at Manchester United if INEOS sacks Carrick, and he’s a man TEAMtalk sources revealed earlier this week is held in ‘high regard’ by club bosses.