Roy Keane has described Manchester United as “a bit of a circus” following Lisandro Martinez’s public criticism of the club’s hierarchy.

Martinez questioned United’s summer transfer business and technical director Jason Wilcox after Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.

The Argentine defender subsequently claimed his comments had come from “anger and frustration”, but Keane believes the outburst reflects the problems currently facing the club.

United are without a win in five matches and have managed just one Premier League win from their opening six games of the season.

Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Keane criticised Martinez for publicly questioning the club’s leadership when his own performances have come under scrutiny.

“There will be some fans saying it’s great and some saying you’re letting the team down, especially from a player who hasn’t been at his best, when the team is struggling,” Keane said.

“I think as a reflection of the club, it’s obviously chaos there, like a bit of a circus.

“When you’re going through a difficult spell like United are, the issue I have with certain players saying things is you always have to start with the man in the mirror before you start coming out with all these comments.”

The former United captain also questioned Martinez’s standing within the dressing room, suggesting the defender should concentrate on improving his performances.

“I don’t think it will be a big falling-out – because I think we have question marks over this dressing room anyway,” he added.

“I don’t think there’s enough characters – enough men in there – but I don’t see him as a senior player at Manchester United. I see him as a centre-half who’s making lots of mistakes.”

Neville warns Martinez has undermined United team-mates

Former United defender Gary Neville was equally critical of Martinez, arguing that his comments could cause problems within the dressing room.

Neville compared the situation to Wayne Rooney’s contract dispute in 2010, when the striker publicly questioned United’s ambition before eventually signing a new five-year deal.

“I’ve got a problem with this from a player’s perspective,” Neville said.

“That is a direct attack on the players you are playing with.

“So if I were Harry Maguire or Bruno Fernandes, or any other senior player, I would be absolutely fuming with him because you’re basically saying we shouldn’t be here and we should be bringing more players in.”