Carrick keeps Fernandes as captain and says he needs no assurances on United future

Michael Carrick has said he will not strip Bruno Fernandes of the Manchester United captaincy after dropping him for the defeat by Bournemouth and that he is not surprised to have kept his job as the head coach.

Carrick and Fernandes held talks this week after the Portuguese criticised the tactics in the loss to Como, resulting in the midfielder being an unused substitute on Sunday. Harry Maguire took the armband but will not keep it for Saturday’s game at Chelsea, with Carrick saying “there is no decision to be made” and praising Fernandes.

“He’s an important player for this group,” he said. “He has been and he will be. Between us, we’ve got to make a difference and we’ve got to push things in a good direction.