Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard has discussed the difficult situation unfolding at Manchester United, as Michael Carrick's position continues to be under threat

Steven Gerrard has claimed that Manchester United's locker room will have a "toxic" atmosphere, as doubts continue to be had over the position of head coach Michael Carrick.

The Red Devils have been in poor form this season, after appointing the former midfielder full-time following his interim spell last campaign, where they ended it third in the Premier League.

While it was always going to be a challenge for the team to balance a return to Champions League nights along with the rest of the fixture schedule, it wasn't foreseen just how poorly the side would start. With just one win from eight league matches, and one from three in Europe, It's been far from an ideal opening.

The difficulties on the pitch have only been amplified by the antics off it. Lisandro Martinez hit out at the hierarchy after defeat to Atletico Madrid, which he then apologized for, before club captain Bruno Fernandes seemingly questioned the tactics and decision-making of Carrick as head coach.

There was some hope that a response would be found against Bournemouth over the weekend to truly kick the team into life, but it was the total opposite. A 3-0 thrashing by the Cherries summed up everything that had been wrong for Man United so far, and the reaction from the Old Trafford crowd was telling as they cheered off Carrick and booed off the players.

While the head coach's job is at risk, plenty of opinions on the situation have been flooding in, including some thoughts from Gerrard on the Red Devils ahead of their meeting with Liverpool next month.

Speaking on The Overlap Daily, he said: "I’ll tell you what it [the mood in the locker room] says: it’s toxic. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that.

"They’re not happy, and that’s the reason why something’s got to change. There’s a part of me that hopes Michael’s put out of his misery, because you look at the fixtures coming up: Chelsea, Roma, Aston Villa, who we’ll speak about in a bit, who were terrific at the weekend. And then you’ve got Liverpool, who are starting to find the [Andoni] Iraola way.

"So you look at the next four games, and there’s a part of me, because of the respect I’ve got for Michael… And I’m not defending him as a… I’m not close to Michael Carrick. We don’t message each other, we’re not friends now; he was my teammate. But Michael is an intelligent footballer, he knows the game, he knows how Manchester United should play, he knows how it should look.

"Of course he’s telling those players and giving them that information. I’m sure he wants a really attacking Manchester United team that’s really difficult to play against."

Having been a player and a manager himself, Gerrard knows what it's like to see a head coach come and go, and he now believes that Carrick has truly lost faith from the locker room.

When asked about whether he has lost the belief from the players, Gerrard continued: "That’s clear, Becky, that’s clear. It’s clear they haven’t got respect.

"Two of the main senior players have undermined him in the last seven days at Manchester United. If you go through the squad, they’ve got some good players. Bruno Fernandes is the best player. I look at him when I watch him and when he’s at it, even though I’m a Liverpool fan, he’s a pleasure to watch. He does things on the pitch that I did playing in a similar position. He’s a terrific footballer, talent-wise.

"But if you go through the squad, the back four: Harry Maguire’s had a really good career. Luke Shaw, I played with Luke; he was top in his day. They’re not Manchester United players anymore. They should have been moved on quicker.

"Lisandro Martínez, last year, was only interested in the World Cup. He’s come back, he’s seen that they haven’t signed the four or five players that he wants in his world. Selfish, he comes out and speaks, then gets injured, goes off at half-time with a knock and is fit for the next game. That stinks to me.

“You look at the midfield: they’ve signed a player from Chelsea, £50 million [$67 million], Andrey Santos, not a Manchester United player. So then it goes to recruitment higher up. Why are you signing players that are not good enough to play for Manchester United? These are the only players you can attract now. But he’s not a Manchester United player, believe me.

“Fernandes speaking out about the manager’s tactics, that shouldn’t happen at Manchester United. You look at the sides of the pitch where, when I played against United, they had Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, world-class players. I look at the sides of the pitch now: young Amad Diallo, yeah, hot and cold. He’s good, but I haven’t seen anything from him this season; he’s been injured a lot.

"Nothing comes from the left side, nothing at all. You look at the forwards: Bryan Mbeumo, a good player, probably one of the shining lights of this season. Matheus Cunha’s dropped, so what’s he doing? Is he not training right? Is he one of the toxic players? They signed him recently, what, 15 months ago? Why is a Brazilian international not starting? So he’s not doing something right; he’s part of the problem as well.

"Benjamin Sesko is injured at the moment, not good enough. They’ve just got problems all over the place.”

It remains to be seen whether Carrick will stay or go in the coming days, with Man United having a free midweek to potentially make a change. However, whichever choice is made, could be crucial to the rest of the season, with Liverpool waiting in the horizon for the upcoming clash in November.