Man Utd star reveals Carrick demand not met in Tottenham draw

Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens has revealed that manager Michael Carrick has been 'hammering' the team to improve their defending as a unit, but that message was not heeded in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

Bryan Mbeumo had given United the lead before Spurs were reduced to 10 men following Rodrigo Bentancur's red card. However, Dominic Solanke levelled in stoppage time, leaving United with just one win from their opening six league games.

Lammens on the draw

Speaking after the match, Lammens said: "It's very disappointing. Because you find a way to get the game, to get the advantage, to score a goal, to get 1-0 up against 10 men, so that's the position you want to be in."

He added: "So it's very disappointing to get the last goal against us at the end. We need to learn from it a lot, because these are the games you have to try to pull towards yourself. To win these games is very important if you want to have a good season, so it's very important for us to learn from this and to move on, to get these games behind us."

Defensive concerns

United have conceded nine goals in the league this season, and Lammens revealed that Carrick has been demanding improvement at the back.

"I think sometimes in the end it comes down to maybe here and there, maybe a mistake from someone, but it doesn't really start with that," the Belgian said. "I think it's a team thing. The manager has been hammering a lot about defending as a team, being able to put pressure on the opposition team, especially on the crosses."

He continued: "And I think today was better, but then you see in the end, one good cross and one good header, and you can lose the game like that, or the win can go away like that. So I get what you're saying, but I think we've been trying to make a difference there, and I think it's been better already, but yeah, it's a pity that today, especially in the end like that, the win slipped away from us."