In response to criticism from former captain Roy Keane, Bruno Fernandes has acknowledged that his style of leading Manchester United is “not always right” but has maintained his style of guidance.
Keane, the captain of United from 1997 to 2005, proposed that Fernandes’ armband be taken away due to his actions on the pitch during the October 3-0 derby loss to Manchester City.
However, Fernandes has retaliated, stating that “everyone is happy” with the way he manages the team.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Fernandes said, “Obviously you don’t like to be criticised, everyone’s the same, but at the same time I have to do what I think is the best for my team.
“Probably I am not always right but in my head at the moment it is the right choice, so I do it.
“My focus is on the team, the staff, everyone who works with me day by day. I think they are pretty happy with me, the way I am is the same since I arrived at the club, it has not changed since being captain.
“I don’t think it has to change. I am really open with everyone so no one until now has had a problem with me, so I think I should keep it like that, everyone is pretty happy with my leadership.”
After Ten Hag made the decision to replace Harry Maguire, Fernandes, who joined United from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020, was named captain in the summer. Even before he was given the armband, the Portugal midfielder was frequently criticized, and he thinks this is partially because of how well he started at Old Trafford.
Although he has been effective in front of goal since—scoring 14 times in all competitions last season—the 29-year-old has not even gone close to matching the 28 goals he scored in his debut full season.
“In the beginning, everything was perfect, because when you arrive in the first game, if you do something different than anyone else is doing, it’s going be all flowers,” Fernandes added.
“But after that I understand the tough part is always coming, because when the result is not coming, when the performances are not what everyone expects to be, because the expectations are always higher and higher.
“I know since I arrived at the club my numbers made myself a target so not keeping the same numbers on goals and assists is sometimes a problem for me. Now it is the captaincy, there is always going to be something.”
