EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Mexico captain Andres Guardado have given their full backing to El Tri coach Miguel Herrera, following a report of discord in the Mexico camp.
Mexican outlet Record published a story on Friday indicating that Mexico's players (among them Hernandez, Guardado and Porto's Hector Herrera) were not happy with Herrera's running of the team and had held a meeting to discuss recent poor results, without the coach being present.
The story sparked a strong reaction in defense of "El Piojo" from El Tri's players, ahead of Sunday's Gold Cup quarterfinal against Costa Rica in MetLife Stadium, N.J.
"We make mistakes as footballers and human beings and they ask that we accept our errors, so they should do the same!" tweeted Hernandez on Saturday.
The Manchester United striker, who may now have a future at the club, also tweeted the hashtag "I lie like Record" (#mientocomorecord) in an earlier tweet. El Tri teammates Guillermo Ochoa, Diego Reyes, Miguel Layun, Yasser Corona, Moises Munoz, Guardado and Oribe Peralta had also used that hashtag in a clear show of support for the under-fire manager.
Mexico and Herrera are going through a difficult time at present, having drawn against Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala in Group C of the Gold Cup and having gone out of the Copa America at the group stage earlier this summer.
In an exclusive interview with ESPN, Guardado told journalist John Sutcliffe that the rumors of players not being in tune with Herrera were completely false.
"We have to concentrate on Costa Rica, because you show the strength of the group more by winning than by what you can say," said Guardado on Friday.
"This isn't against the media in general, it is against one story in particular that I think is very much out of place and makes us angry because of the wrong information and the lies within it," he added.
The media department of the Mexican national team also released a statement on Friday to stress that the team is united in its goal of winning the Gold Cup.