Ruben Amorim has told former Manchester United players criticising captain Bruno Fernandes to stop seeing his performances in "black and white" and appreciate the colours that paint the overall picture.
The 30-year-old has often been the lightning rod during poor performances or patches, with former skipper Roy Keane fuming "talent is not enough" as he tore into his leadership a fortnight ago.
Fernandes said he was using those eye-catching remarks as fuel after firing United to the Europa League quarter-finals with a hat-trick in Thursday's 4-1 last-16 second leg win against Real Sociedad.
Head coach Amorim recently said his opinion of the Portugal playmaker was more important than Keane’s and described him as the "perfect captain" after sealing a 5-2 aggregate victory to set up a quarter-final against Lyon.
"I think he’s so important for this team," he said. "And you can see it by the numbers, and you can see from these last games, he’s always the guy that scores.
"It’s not the most important thing, it’s not the only thing, but he’s always there.
"When you play for this team, you have to be prepared for the critics and I understand that former players had a lot of success here and the standards for them were so high that they see the things like that sometimes as black and white.
"In life sometimes it’s not just black and white, there is some other colours and you have to understand the context.
"Again, he’s always there, trying his best, so I’m really proud to coach a player like him."
Meanwhile Fernandes says he is using Keane's scathing recent criticism as fuel and hit back at co-owner Jim Ratcliffe for his comments about "overpaid" players.
The 30-year-old is the most successful signing of the post-Alex Ferguson era and has been a rare shining light during what has largely been a campaign to forget so far.
United skipper Fernandes continued his fine form with a hat-trick in Thursday's 4-1 comeback win against Real Sociedad, sealing a 5-2 aggregate triumph and setting up a Europa League quarter-final clash against Lyon.
It means he could yet be lifting a trophy at the end of a disappointing season that has seen former captain Keane recently rage that the Portuguese was "not a fighter" and that "talent is not enough".
Asked if such criticism was unfair from United players of a different era, Fernandes said: "No, everyone has an opinion and that's fine.
"I can't change the mind of people. Like everything I have to do is go on the pitch and try to do the best I can for the club.
"Roy Keane was an amazing captain for the club, one of the best as everyone says. I didn't have the chance to see much from him, only the last few years, but was a great player that won everything for the club.
"He's massively respected from everyone and has all my respect. He has to give his opinion in a programme and this is what he thinks about me.
"What I'm doing on the pitch to try to change his mind or trying to do something that he probably sees as a good thing. Obviously, I do it in my own way, I don't want to copy anyone.
"I try to be the best captain that I can for my team-mates, I try to help everyone in the best way I can and the best way I know.
"I have a lot of things to improve, not only as a captain but as a player, as a person, as a human being - and that's fine.
"Criticism is going to be always part (of the game) and it's going to make me grow and understand that there's still a long way to go."
