Michael Carrick has told Manchester United fans that his team will bring "fire" to their performances after using the three-week international break to assess a string of underwhelming displays.
United have taken just five points from five games so far this season and they have let a good run of fixtures go to waste, although there have been moments of misfortune as well. Carrick has been encouraged by some elements of their game and the attacking stats have looked strong, but there has been criticism over a lack of intensity and the running stats are poor.
Carrick calls for more intensity
That appears to be a view the 45-year-old might be subscribing to after suggesting his team needs to dial up the intensity now, starting with Tottenham at Old Trafford and then a daunting run of away games against Atletico Madrid, Leeds and Como.
"I think we're calm in some ways, and we understand where we want to get to, how we want to get there, and what it takes to get there," said Carrick. "We need to have a little bit of fire moving forward in terms of how we play, how we perform, what that means, and getting the best out of each other. So we need to keep pushing for more."
Break used for review
United haven't played for three weeks due to the longer international break, and their final game, the domestic pause was a 1-1 draw at Fulham, who began the day bottom of the table, just as Spurs will this weekend. The longer hiatus is part of a revamped international schedule, and while Carrick wasn't pleased at having to go so long without a game, he felt they put the break to good use.
"It's a long break, probably too long really from my perspective, and it feels like a long time," he said. "But then of course we've made the most of it. I think when you've had a period like this, international breaks in general are normally a time where you can have a bit of a review and a bit of a plan of what's next. This one's been extra long, and it's certainly given us an opportunity to look at some of the good things that we're still doing, to not lose that, and certainly think we need to clean up on other things to help us get better results."
Adapting to fixture congestion
This run will also be a different test for Carrick, who had the advantage of playing pretty much once a week during the second half of last season. They now have Champions League fixtures for the next two midweeks and it will put the squad to test at a time when injuries are beginning to bite.
"There's obviously an adaptation, definitely that takes place," he said. "I think just in terms of training time and planning for games, it is slightly different. I think that's experience, experience in different ways that I've kind of lived through and seen it from different perspectives, that's definitely something that you kind of use. I think we always have a plan about the games coming up and maybe a cluster of games and what it looks like, but then adapting again is crucial. Injuries, unfortunately, are part of the game. You don't always know where they're going to come and what stage. Sometimes it's in the same position, sometimes it's spread, sometimes you have a few, sometimes you have not a lot. You can't certainly plan for that, but adapting and having the right balance is important."
