Jamie Carragher slams Lisandro Martinez after criticism of Man Utd hierarchy

Jamie Carragher has slammed Lisandro Martinez after the Manchester United defender criticised the club's technical director, Jason Wilcox, following their 2-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Red Devils have made a disastrous start to the new season, suffering four defeats in their opening nine games of a campaign for the first time in the club's history.

Despite spending £155m on four major signings during the summer transfer window, Man Utd failed to strengthen at left-back or bring in another attacker.

Following the defeat, Martinez made a remarkable admission, suggesting that he had expected greater investment in the squad after what he described as a fantastic previous season, in which United finished third.

Jamie Carragher slams Lisandro Martinez

Carragher described Martinez's comments as "awful", adding that supporters were now witnessing the 'real' Man Utd again.

The football pundit also believes that Martinez, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has struggled badly this term, making the timing of his outburst particularly unhelpful.

Carragher told CBS Sports, via Sky Sports News: "It doesn't do anybody any good at all, and they will be the story now for the next few days, all about this."

"Every set of supporters don't like the suits or the guys upstairs, so United fans will lap this up and think it's great. I think it's awful that he's come out and said that right now. I do."

"And when he's saying 'we had a fantastic season last season', they didn't. A manager got sacked last season. Sacked."

"They finished third because they had no cup games. They got knocked out of the cup competitions very early. The reason they finished third is Liverpool and Chelsea were that bad as well."

"Now we're seeing the real Manchester United this season. They were awful again tonight."

"And him as well, when he's talking at the start of this season - I think he's a good player, by the way, he's a World Cup winner, I get that - he's had an awful start to the season. Awful. Really poor."

Lisandro Martinez: Opinion divided over his outburst

Several pundits believe that Martinez's own form this season is part of the problem, making the timing of his criticism of the recruitment team highly questionable.

However, some supporters feel that Martinez was right to speak his mind, giving him credit for addressing the issue publicly.

Paul Robinson has suggested that it is clear Man Utd did not invest enough during the summer and that the squad lacks sufficient quality and depth.

While Martinez's own performances have come under scrutiny, it will be interesting to see how Michael Carrick handles the situation ahead of Man Utd's Premier League clash against Leeds United.

Will Martinez issue a public apology? Could he face an internal suspension? Will the club fine the former Ajax defender? Such questions are inevitably being raised following his outspoken comments.