'To be honest...' - Martinez hits back at Carragher's 'too small' claims ahead of Carabao Cup final

Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez hit back at past claims from the likes of Jamie Carragher that he is “too small” to play centre-back in the Premier League.

United take on Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, with Erik ten Hag’s side looking to claim the club its first silverware since 2017.

Meanwhile, for the Magpies, it’s their first showpiece since the turn of the Millennium. Indeed, United have claimed 40 major trophies since Newcastle’s last major domestic silverware, some 68 years ago.

Likely to start alongside Raphael Varane at centre-back for United is Martinez. Few players symbolise United’s transformation under Ten Hag as the diminutive Argentinian international.

Despite many having been fixated on Martinez’s 5ft 9inch frame when United agreed to pay £57million for the defender last summer, the World Cup winner has swiftly silenced his doubters.

Martinez responds to the ‘too small’ claims

After United suffered a humbling opening day defeat to Brighton, they were subsequently humiliated 4-0 by Brentford the following week.

Upon Martinez being dragged off at halftime, former Liverpool defender Carragher insisted that the Argentine was too small to play as a centre-half in a back four in the Premier League.

On such comments, Martinez told the Telegraph: “To be honest, I put my full focus here. I can’t control that [what people say], you know, it’s just an opinion.

“I understand when people say that – they show me who they are, you know? It’s not my problem. I’m really happy, the people are happy with me as well. That’s the most important thing.

“In the beginning, in Argentina, it was the same. But it’s normal because, in football, it’s not normal to play as a centre-back with my height. It’s not easy as well, you know - you have to work very hard. You have to be very clever on the pitch, you have to be sharp in every situation but if you’re smart you can win the duels.

“It was a tough [start] for sure. The way we lose, the attitude was really bad. We spoke in the dressing room, we said everything [we had to]. We looked at … how do you say it? … the badge and said, ‘Guys, this is not possible. We have to change this’. Directly, we started to change everything - the energy, in the training, fighting. And then we showed another spirit, another energy, another [level of] teamwork.”