Bruno Fernandes 'deserves respect' after 'carrying history of Man Utd on his shoulders'

· Mirror

Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes has been defended by former player Ander Herrara, who has hit out at the criticism levelled at the Portuguese playmaker

Ander Herrera has told the critics to stop hammering Bruno Fernandes and show the Manchester United captain more respect. Fernandes has faced some flak following a mediocre start to the new season.

The midfielder has been nowhere near his best, with United winning just two of their opening nine games in all competitions.

But former United star Herrera has leapt to the defence of Fernandes - and insisted he deserves huge gratitude for carrying the team on his back in recent seasons.

> Appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Herrera said: "For me, he's a leader. He has had Manchester United on his back a lot of years, a lot of seasons. Sometimes playing, I'm not going to say alone, but carrying the history of the club on his shoulders.

> He said: "We have to give him time because, as I told you before, the Premier League that I found was not the same Premier League that you found. And Michael, when he got in charge, the Premier League now is not top four, top five. It's almost top eight.

> "So I think we have to give time to the coaches, to the managers, to build something, to create something. And I think Carrick is the man. I want him to be the man, but I also believe he is the man to bring trophies to the club. I don't know if he will win the Premier League in two or three years, but he is going to be there. He's going to be competing. I'm sure of that."

Herrera spent five years at United, winning four trophies, including the FA Cup and he was left heartbroken when United bosses failed to give him a new and improved deal. Instead, the club wrote him a letter informing him of a 12 month extension, which left him so fuming he decided to join Paris Saint Germain.

> Herrera added: "After my third season, when I won the 'Player of the Year' award, I expected the club to come to me. I said to my agent, 'whatever they offer is going to be OK. I'm going to sign because I want to stay at United. I'm so happy.

> "They didn't come, so I started to feel sad. And I remember what killed me is when they sent me that letter saying we are going to renew automatically your fifth season at the club. They didn't even call me to say, 'Ander, we want you to stay'. They sent me a letter. When I received that letter I thought, 'I'm done'. My heart was already a little bit broken."

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