Michael Carrick has confirmed that Amad's cryptic social media post on Tuesday was intended as a show of solidarity with Lisandro Martínez following the defender's pointed post-match interview after Manchester United's 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atlético Madrid.
Martínez used post-match interviews with Amazon Prime Video and CBS in the United States to criticize the club's leadership and the lack of investment in the first-team squad during the summer transfer window. The 28-year-old has since held talks with Carrick, director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada, and on Thursday he apologized on social media for the "time and place" of his remarks, though not for their substance.
Amid the fallout, Amad posted a picture from the match captioned "F***ing disgrace. I have no words." Speaking on Friday, Carrick said the post was meant as a message of support for Martínez, though he urged the forward to channel his emotion in the right way, something he believes has since happened.
"It's a situation where there are ways of doing it, and in one way, it shows the boys care an awful lot," Carrick said. "There is ways of doing it as part of learning a little bit, of showing that emotion, and like I've just said, I think we've just got to show that in the right manner and channel it in the right manner."
Carrick also used his press conference to back Martínez and push back against outside criticism of the situation inside the club. "Just because people talk from the outside, that doesn't mean it's the truth," he said. "The squad today in training was in a fantastic place - that's the truth."
Carrick has overseen just a single win in six Premier League games this season, but he played down the pressure on him personally. "I don't need results," he said. "We all need results. It's not about me; Manchester United is bigger than an individual, so please, I don't go into every day thinking about me. It's not about any individual player; it's about this football club and its history."
United return to action on Sunday away at Leeds United, who currently sit seventh in the Premier League table.
