Belgian midfielder backs beleaguered manager
Tielemans has stressed that the United dressing room needs "stability" rather than another managerial change despite an eight-game winless run across all competitions. Having arrived from Aston Villa in July following talks with the manager, the midfielder witnessed the Red Devils suffer back-to-back defeats by three-goal margins last week. Those results have left the club sitting 16th in the Premier League table with seven points from eight games.
Squad retains faith in boss
Scrutiny on the Old Trafford dugout has intensified after United lost two of their opening three UEFA Champions League fixtures and slipped to just one point above the top-flight relegation zone. However, having moved to Manchester in the summer following direct discussions with Carrick, Tielemans insisted that dismissing the former midfielder would only worsen their predicament.
Speaking in an interview with TNT Sports, the Belgian said: "I came here partly because of him, because he wanted me here. He wanted me to help the team out. So I'm very happy for him to stay, and the whole group, we don't want a sudden change. We don't want a big change that is going to disrupt things more than they are. We just need stability, we need to keep working hard, and it's going to turn at some point."
Maintaining that the head coach definitely retains the dressing room's support despite their dismal autumn run, the 29-year-old added: "Since I've come in, he's always done his work. He's tried to put a system in place that we all feel comfortable in. I joined this summer, because he convinced me to come over and help the team out. I can only speak positively about him, and everyone in the changing room would do the same. We all just need to stick together and turn this situation around."
Nevertheless, off-field unrest has compounded United's struggles on the pitch in recent weeks. Following a European loss to Atletico Madrid, defender Martinez publicly demanded greater squad investment and "more from our technical director [Jason Wilcox]" before later issuing an apology.
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Just a week later, after United were convincingly beaten 4-1 in the Champions League by Cesc Fabregas' Como, club captain Fernandes questioned the coaching staff's approach when speaking to TNT Sports: "It's a decision from the staff to not press man to man. Sometimes, when you give too much of the ball to these teams, they get confidence."
Internal frustrations reflect winning desire
Fernandes was subsequently left on the bench throughout Sunday's 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth, marking the third time in four seasons that the Cherries have won by that scoreline at Old Trafford, though Carrick confirmed on Thursday that the Portuguese playmaker remains "fully committed" and will keep the captaincy.
While acknowledging that such grievances should "stay in the group", Tielemans defended his team-mates' passion: "Everyone is like they are. It's just a case of trying to do that in the right tone, the right moment. There has been a lot of talk about it, obviously, so I'm not going to go into this much further. But it shows that everyone cares. We all want to turn these things around.
"We want to win games. We're all winners, and when frustration builds up, you might have different words and different opinions, which is totally normal. As long as it stays in the group, that's the best part."
Insisting that "a lot" of the blame for United's poor form rests with the squad rather than the coaching staff, the midfielder continued: "It's not only down to the manager. The manager is doing his work. We as players need to do our work as well. It works both ways."
That view was echoed by the Old Trafford faithful after Sunday's loss to Bournemouth, as supporters chanted Carrick's name before booing the players once the manager had walked down the tunnel.
Addressing the reaction from the stands, Tielemans said: "I understand [the boos], because the fans are demanding. They've known very good times at the club, they've known many successes. It is very normal that they are demanding, we are demanding of ourselves, and when the results are negative, obviously they get frustrated, but we get frustrated too.
"We want to win games, and obviously it's not nice to hear boos when you come off the pitch, but in that moment, it's their frustration coming out, which we need to accept and move on together. Hopefully, we will come out stronger than last week. I think last week was a very negative week for us as players, for the club, with two defeats. We want to make things right."
With only six Premier League sides possessing a worse defensive record this term, Tielemans also noted that the squad have spent the week working on "tactically, being more compact" on the training pitch, concluding: "We need to make sure we're strong as a group, and that our individual qualities can come out much easier than they have been the last few weeks."
Defensive shape tested at Chelsea
United will put that renewed defensive work to the test on Saturday lunchtime when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. With the club sitting precariously close to the Premier League drop zone following consecutive three-goal defeats, delivering an improved display in west London is imperative to halting their slide. Securing a positive result on the road would also ease the immediate pressure surrounding Carrick's tenure.