Bruno Fernandes has conceded that his captaincy of Manchester United is “not always right,” but he has defended his leadership of Erik ten Hag’s club in the face of criticism from former captain Roy Keane.

Keane, United’s captain from 1997 to 2005, requested Fernandes be deprived of the armband for his on-field behavior during the 3-0 derby loss to Manchester City in October.

Fernandes, on the other hand, has responded by claiming that “everyone is happy” with the way he manages the group.

“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,” Fernandes told a news conference on Tuesday.

“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.”

Fernandes, who joined United in January 2020 from Sporting Lisbon, was named captain in the summer after Ten Hag opted to replace Harry Maguire. Even before becoming the captaincy, the Portugal midfielder faced criticism, which he attributes in part to how well he started at Old Trafford.

He scored 28 goals in his first full season, and while being productive in front of goal subsequently (he scored 14 goals in all competitions last season), the 29-year-old has yet to repeat that total.

“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.”