MADRID -- Lisandro Martínez launched a stinging verbal attack on Manchester United's hierarchy, singling out director of football Jason Wilcox, after a 2-0 Champions League defeat against Atlético Madrid by saying the club failed to strengthen the squad sufficiently during the summer transfer window.
United suffered a third defeat in five games against Diego Simeone's team and with manager Michael Carrick winning just one of his last seven games, the pressure is growing on the former midfielder to save his job.
But Argentina defender Martínez said that the scrutiny should fall on Carrick's bosses rather than the manager or players for failing to invest in the summer.
United spent just £150 million on new signings -- significantly less than their Big Six rivals.
"Really poor. Really poor," Martínez told Amazon Prime after the game in Madrid. "I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it is a reflection of the mirror of how is our club at the moment.
"We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well.
"Atlético have an amazing team and they deserve to win today.
"But I expect more [investment]. 100%. I expect more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox]. I have to be honest, as players we have to do more, but it is also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night."
When asked about the pressure on Carrick, Martínez directly pointed to those upstairs at Old Trafford in terms of who should be facing questions.
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"You can't keep changing, changing, changing the manager," Martínez said. "What about other areas? [looks up] I can't say more.
"Tonight it is easy to say the coach, easy to say the players but also we have to see other areas [points up].
"He [Carrick] does his best. Every season is different. You can't stay with what you did last season.
"The teams knows how you play, they know every detail, if you don't change next season is a big problem.
"Last season we did everything, we created the base to create an amazing team.
"It is annoying, disappointing coming here and I am not seeing my team trying to get an amazing result here."
Carrick was later asked about his defender's fiery comments but refused to give his opinion, saying he had not seen it.
"I haven't seen it. After a game like this you come here to try and get something from the game and you are disappointed and can be emotional," he said.
"I have not seen it so I don't think it is the right time.
"We all care and show that in different ways but now is the time to be together and work through.
"As a group, I don't doubt the togetherness or their wanting to win. Looking at the results, you could be saying its deeply wrong, but that's not been the case.
"The players have been great, results haven't, and they were desperate to get something out of the game."