Every word of Michael Carrick’s embargoed Brentford press conference

Does Carrick think United need a new centre-back?

“Obviously there’s like a lot of talk about what might happen to the midfield this summer,” the next reporter said, “but just at centre-back, obviously Harry’s obviously signed a new deal, you’ve got two young defenders in Leny and Ayden Heaven. Just on Martinez and De Ligt though, obviously Martinez has made 62 starts in almost four full seasons now, he’s not been on the pitch enough. De Ligt’s been out since late November. Is that potentially, particularly if you end up in the Champions League next year, is that an area of the pitch you might have to look at in the summer, or an area of concern? And can you also just let us know what’s the latest on De Ligt?”

The boss responded:

“it’s not an area of concern for me at this moment in time. Again, at the moment and timing-wise, talking about the summer and what goes beyond that, I think it’s difficult to elaborate on that really. Licha’s actually missing games for a different reason at the minute, which I don’t know, we won’t go into, but I understand why you’re asking it.”

“But no, no, I haven’t got concerns. I think we’ve got a mixed blend there of experience, of real quality, and some young, I’d say more than talent really, two promising young players that have already shown what they can do. I thought Ayden was fantastic last week. And in such a difficult game. So I haven’t got concerns as I sit here what the future looks like. I can’t really get involved because I’m not sure myself what that looks like. But, and in terms of Matta, he’s working towards being fit again, really, you know, he’s doing a little bit on the grass and it’s progress, but it’s one of those injuries and it’s rehab and he’s working to get fit. So we’re hopeful to have him back as soon as possible, really.”

Might De Ligt need surgery?

“He’s back on the grass at the moment in a small capacity, but he’s working towards it, so that’s positive. So yeah, we’re all hoping that it keeps going in that direction.”

Does Carrick think United can win the Champions League next season?

“Jumped ahead quite quick there, aren’t you?” he joked. “Well, we’re living in the moment. We want to be there, right? Of course we want to be there, but, um, we’re not getting too ahead of it both ways, you know, and we understand as things can go right, things can not go to plan. So we know where we are. Last week was a big result for us to put us in the position that we are, but nothing’s done yet.”

Do United need a striker?

The next reporter asked, “With regard to your scorers, you haven’t yet got anyone with double figures Premier League, but you have got three or four, well, I think it’s five players, on nine or eight. Does it matter not to have a scorer, I don’t know, of mid-teens, high teens? Does it really matter, or would you like to have by the end of the season an 18 or 20 goal Premier League person?”

Carrick answered:

“There’s different ways to look at it sometimes, to have one and scoring an awful lot of goals certainly can help in some ways, but then not relying so much, not expecting one player to just produce the goals being able to share it is a good thing. It is a good thing that everyone’s capable of doing it and chipping in. At some point someone hits a bit of form and a purple patch and has big moments, it comes around a little bit. I think we’ve got good flexibility within the team for that, whether that’s set plays, whether that’s transitions, whether that’s in and around the box, we feel like we’ve got a good mix. So I’m okay with that. We’d like to score more goals, of course we would. We’d like to concede less goals. Football, right? But I think the balance that we’ve got and sharing the load is a good thing.”

Licha’s hair pull

The MEN’s Samuel Luckhurst asked, “I don’t know if you noticed that the VAR in the City-Arsenal game at the weekend was the same as your game against Leeds last week, where he’s deemed Lisandro’s minor hair pull to be a red card, but Gabriel’s headbutt on Haaland wasn’t deemed to be a red card, and it feels like most people thought he should have been sent off. Is that another incident where it’s particularly frustrating for you, where there’s that inconsistency?”

The boss replied, “I don’t want to comment on other games, and other teams and other individuals. I don’t think it’s right for me to get involved in that. I do think there’s been some instances that have made it more difficult to understand how Licha is suspended and continues to be.”

“The Calvin Bassey incident last week?,” he was asked.

“There’s other instances, yeah,” Carrick admitted. “I don’t want to get involved in it. I don’t think it’s fair for me to comment on other teams, genuinely, but when you see all the other things in and around it for the offence that was allegedly committed and the punishment that’s come with that, I don’t think it fits it at all. I find it hard to understand, I have to say.”

Evening matches

“And just on a separate note,” Luckhurst continued, “this is going to be the seventh evening game you’ve managed out of 13. The club have had a lot of evening kick-offs this season. Do you sympathise with match-goers? I know the club aren’t in Europe, but does it feel like there have been too many of them, particularly given the travelling support the club have and the amount of people who go to home games?”

The Wallsend man replied:

“Yeah, I totally understand the difficulty of getting to games at times and for different reasons, for transport, for purely on timings and throughout the week. I understand that it’s not something that we can always control, but, and this season and certainly since I’ve been here, the schedule has been a little bit unique in some ways. So, but I totally sympathise with the supporters. I have to say the support last week at Chelsea was special in the moments like that, and hopefully they enjoyed that. They seemed to, and we did certainly. So we’d like a little bit more of that. But yeah, without doubt, there’s a lot of sympathy for the supporters and the effort and everything that they have to give us to get to games.”

Matthijs de Ligt fitness

The next question was, “Just on De Ligt, it’s a difficult one because you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen with him, but given there’s only five games left now, is it fair to say that he won’t play again this season?”

“I wouldn’t say not at all, no,” the boss responded. “I’d like to think, or we certainly hope, that there’s a chance that he can without putting any pressure on it or deadlines on it. Of course, it’s something that we’re working towards and he’s working towards as well, so hopefully it’s the case, but there’s certainly no pressure to get him back. He needs to come back at the right time when he’s ready.”

Is he still happy that De Ligt has a big future at United?

“Well, again, like I’ve just said, I think we’re talking about the summer and beyond,” he answered. “I think it’s difficult for me to sit here and make judgments and comment on that. We just want him to get back fit. I think as any footballer, to be out and missing football matches and not being able to train is a difficult time, and it’s probably one of the toughest times that you go through as a professional. So obviously we’re helping him through that, supporting him through that, and trying to get him back as quick as we can.”

Talking to Sir Jim

Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic then asked whether he had had a chance to speak to Sir Jim Ratcliffe when he visited Carrington this week.

“Yeah, he came in,” Carrick confirmed. “We had a chat, we had a cup of tea and casual chat, to be honest. It was nice to see him showing his support, obviously. And yeah, that was it. It was quite informal, but it was nice to see him.”

“It feels a good thing to have an owner that is connected and can be across what the current situation is, right, at Carrington?” the reporter asked.

“Yeah, I think as a football club we’re hugely connected and all the way through. I think it’s a big part of it, I’m really conscious of that. That’s how it should be, and I’m trying to do my part with that as well as is everybody else. So I’ve felt that since I’ve been, since I’ve been here, since January, for sure.”

Champions League qualification again

The next question was, “Just how important is it for a club like this to be in the Champions League every season? Not just obviously from a financial point of view, but also just the prestige. And is this the sort of club that should be in the Champions League most, if not all, seasons?”

Carrick replied:

“It’s certainly where we want to be. We’ve had some success in the competition. We’ve had some great occasions and great nights in the competition, and it’s without doubt where we want to be. You can never take for granted and just assume that’s where you should be. I think that’s part of football and performance where you need to earn it, simple as that. You need to earn it. At the moment we’re in a decent position. There’s hopefully more to come as well, and we want to keep pushing, but it just shows you how difficult it can be to be at the top, to stay at the top, to live at the top. Champions League is definitely where we want to be.”

The final question was, “you’ve said in the past that you’re involved in discussions about the summer, whatever your future may hold. Presumably, are there two sort of sets of plans dictated by the finance of whether or not you’re in the Champions League?”

He answered:

“I think that like anything, planning and moving forward of what it could look like, you have to be ahead of the game and not be caught by surprise or reactive. What their plans look like, obviously some of the discussions I’ve been part of, some of them I’m sure are going on, and fair to make plans and make the best of whatever happens next season, whatever happens in the summer.”

Featured image Warren Little via Getty Images

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