Michael Carrick is adamant he can get Manchester United back on track after his seven-match winless run left him on the brink of the sack.
United’s early season is quickly unravelling, and Wednesday’s dismal 4-1 loss at Como led many to believe Carrick was to be relieved of his duties. He has managed to hold onto his position for now, though, despite having not won a match since beating Azerbaijani champions Sabah in early September.
Business as usual for now
Carrick will be in the dugout for the visit of high-flying Bournemouth this weekend, with sources at the club insisting it is business as usual - if only for the time being.
But Carrick was in a defiant mood as he opened his pre-Bournemouth press conference with a heartfelt, off-the-cuff speech in which he promised to get United back in touch with its roots, repeatedly acknowledging the difficult moment in which the club finds itself.
Six-minute rallying cry
He spoke for six uninterrupted minutes about the state of the club as he called for players and fans to be humble and patient as they work to get the club back on track.
“I’ll start today. I just want to say a few things. I think it is important. Recently we haven’t had a good time, that is obvious. I totally accept that,” Carrick said.
“We had five months of relative success in a spell where I was happy with a lot of things I was seeing and that we were doing as a team. We haven't done well enough lately. We've had a spell that we're really not happy with.”
Call for humility and resilience
Carrick acknowledged the pain of the Como defeat and stressed the importance of the supporters, saying: “Wednesday was a bad night. It was a bad night for a lot of reasons. It hurt a lot. It obviously hurt me to see us play that way, to see how the game panned out. As I said after the game, it was really unacceptable.”
He added: “The supporters are a huge part of this football club. They have to make the effort and the time and money they spend, to feel how we all felt on Wednesday was a tough moment. My responsibility is to get a team on the pitch that represents this football club, the supporters, and they can be proud of it. We have gone away from that recently in certain games, which I am fully aware of. It is important we all recognise that, I certainly do.”
Carrick invoked the club’s history, referencing Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Matt Busby and Sir Bobby Charlton, and insisted United’s resilience runs deep. “Manchester United has always been bigger than any individual. Bigger than me, bigger than the players, and it always will be,” he said.
“We are not entitled to be here, we are not entitled to win. It takes hard work. I think it is important we live up to that, and it is important for me to push those values. It is important to feel that moving forward. We have lost our way a bit, if I’m honest, but I am totally convinced we will get it back. That is very important to me.”
