Michael Carrick opened his Manchester United press conference on Friday afternoon with a six-minute emotional speech, telling fans the club has "lost its way." The manager faces scrutiny after only two victories in his first 11 matches.
Carrick's Unusual Opening Statement
In an unusual move, the United boss launched straight into his own statement without fielding any questions first. He addressed the team's poor recent form directly but insisted his players needed to step up, highlighting how the club's legends have always put the team first.
Carrick said: "I think it's important... recently we haven't had a good time I think that's obvious, I totally accept that. We had five months of relative success and I was happy with many things I was seeing."
Pressure After Poor Results
He is under pressure after Bruno Fernandes publicly questioned the tactics, pointing the finger at Carrick himself. The former player turned manager acknowledged the team's struggles, saying: "We haven't done well enough recently. Wednesday was a bad night for a lot of reasons, it really hurt a lot, it hurt me to see how the game panned out."
He added: "As I said after the game, it was unacceptable. Supports pay a lot of money to follow the team and to leave with that feeling... My responsibility is to get a team on the pitch that the supporters can identify with, and we have gone away from that recently and we need need to something about it."
Remembering Club Legends
Carrick reminded his players of the club's heritage, stating: "It was never about Ryan Giggs, it was never about Ryan Giggs, it was about Manchester United. Wayne Rooney, the greatest goalscorer in the club's history, he played for team."
He continued: "Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager in the club's history... Sir Matt [Busby] and Sir Bobby [Charlton], their resilience was beyond belief what they showed and how they rebuilt this football club. It was built on hard work, and we should never forget that."
