Man United fans must be patient with Martial - Carrick

The French striker has scored nine goals in 30 appearances since his big-money transfer from French club Monaco last year, although he has suffered a dip in form recently having netted just once in his last seven games.

(Reuters)

"We have to understand that sometimes he might not be that shining light and have days when it's not quite happening for him and that's understandable," Carrick told the club's website (www.manutd.com).

"But over time he'll improve and I've seen a big improvement already in this short time. Hopefully, that trend will continue and he'll get better and better."

Louis van Gaal's men, who are fifth in the Premier League, six points behind the Champions League spots with 13 games left, travel to second-bottom Sunderland on Saturday.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)