Every word of Michael Carrick’s Sunderland embargoed press conference

Every word of Michael Carrick’s Sunderland embargoed press conference

Michael Carrick has been speaking to the media in the embargoed section of the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League tie with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The first part of the press conference was released live yesterday and is available here.

Here is every word of the embargoed section of the presser.

On the permanent manager role

The first question was “would you expect an absolute full kind of process of recruitment and for interviews for whoever’s in for [the permanent manager’s job]”?

Carrick replied:

“It’s a process. I think it’s pretty obvious it’s going to be a process, and that was from the outset in terms of finding someone to fill the position ultimately in the end.”

The reporter continued, “you’ve kind of exceeded expectations, so you know it’s happened before that an interim has done well and would get the job.”

He answered:

“Yeah, a lot’s happened before in all sorts of different ways, whether it’s interim getting the job, not getting the job, whether it’s having success or not success. So I think past’s the past, really, and I’ve learned from the past, I’ve learned from my own experiences, but there’s mixed throughout history in football.”

“So I think to compare all the other things and how it’s gone before, I think it doesn’t necessarily give you a good gauge of what’s going on now and what needs to happen next. And that’s not me personally, I just think that’s the situation where it’s at right now.”

He was then asked “Is it difficult, is it unnerving for you in the job at the moment to see that job kind of being discussed externally with other candidates?”

“No, genuinely no,” he said. “Whether it’s discussed or not discussed, it hasn’t bothered me, hasn’t changed literally how I go about it, you know. Confident in the work that we’re doing and working with the players and leading the club. So it literally hasn’t had any effect on me at all.”

Amad

The next question was:

“There was quite a nice moment at the end of the game on Sunday when you gave Amad a hug. You’d won the game, massive 3 points, Champions League, all the rest of it. He was obviously still frustrated, I think, about that first goal. Obviously he was off at halftime against Brentford, on at halftime against Liverpool. It feels like it’s been a tough time for him recently. He needs to get a bit more arm around the shoulder for him, do you think?”

The Boss replied:

“Amad’s fine, he’s absolutely fine. There’s no problem. He was smiling at full-time.”

“Mistakes are part of football. I’ve made them. I’ve made plenty as a player. I understand. And sometimes you make them and it leads to a goal. Sometimes you make them, you get away with it and no one really talks about it. He’s done so many good things since I came back and the impact that he’s had on the team and his performances and what he gives the team. With the ball, without the ball, his energy, his attitude towards it.”

“And he’s been great over the last few days and he was great after the game. And so he should be. He’s got nothing to feel down about or upset about and frustrated about because he’s got so, so much to look forward to and he’s so talented and so exciting and an absolute joy to work with. So he’s in a good place. He’s in a good place and I’m sure he’s looking forward to the game on Saturday.”

Sesko’s fitness

The manager was then asked if Benjamin Sesko will be fit to face Sunderland tomorrow.

“We’ll have to see,” he replied. “He’s obviously came off with a shin issue, so we’ll see. At the moment he hasn’t been fully back with the group, but we’ll have to see how it goes.”

Speed of recruitment

Carrick was then asked “last year the club wanted to come quickly out of the blocks and the deal for Matthijs was done very, very quickly. Where Champions League is boxed off now, you’re going to be in it next season. Is that the intention this summer as well, to get players in through the door quickly?”

He answered:

“Yeah, well, obviously for me sitting here, in terms of what I’ve said it before, in terms of what the summer looks like and moving forward, it’s one decision at a time. But certainly in the background planning and what the squad needs to look like and evolve, that’s other conversations that are going on. And how quickly that happens, I haven’t got an answer for you right now.”

“You’ve said before you’ve been having those discussions, are they going on on a weekly, daily basis?”

The Wallsend man responded:

“Yeah, there’s always discussions going on, some informal, some smaller than others, but there’s always discussions. There’s a lot to talk about. Recruitment’s the obvious one, and when it gets to this time of year, that’s what everyone wants to know about, and understandably so. And yeah, there’s a lot of work going on, and it’s not just for me leading that, there’s a lot going on. Making plans for what the summer and beyond looks like.”

Bruno Fernandes’ future

The boss was then asked “Bruno Fernandes is a bit of uncertainty again coming into the summer. I think it’s been suggested he’ll make a decision maybe after the World Cup on what’s going to happen. Now you’ve got Champions League football and what feels a clear sense of momentum, would you expect Bruno to stay here for next season?”

Carrick answered:

“I think Bruno, you can see he’s happy and he’s playing some fantastic football. Maybe he’s as good as he’s he’s played ever and he’s had really good spells here, so he looks happy. I think he’s got a big end to the season here. He’s your big summer, of course. But yeah, we as a football club, we love having him here. He’s a big part of what we do.”

The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell then asked:

“Just touching on a couple of the questions that guys have made in terms of your time here and the weeks have gone on, what have you felt like in terms of working with the club and feeling like there’s aspects that you would like to get stuck into, you know, beyond this summer? Is that something that’s been a part of your mind thinking what you’d do if you did get the job?”

“I think it’s a natural kind of process to be crossing your mind,” the manager answered, “and again what I was saying earlier about all my decisions of my personal, the staff, whether as a club we’ve all made these decisions as we’ve gone for the last 3 or 4 months of to put things in place to be stronger for the years coming up really and there’s always things that maybe we can do a little bit better or we’ll improve on, or maybe go in a different direction with certain things. That’s just part of evolving.”

“So yeah, of course, that’s something that has crossed my mind, and it was a case of leaving it in a place at the end of the season where if it was me or somebody else, that’s there to take even further.”

The next reporter said “Whenever we speak to players after the game or whenever, they all speak quite passionately about you staying. How much hope does that give you? Like, you’ve got all your players seemingly so behind you.”

Managerial future

Carrick replied:

“I just think as a cultural manager, I think, or as a leader of a group, you’re only leader of a group if people kind of want to follow you, really. And it’s not a thing that you can talk about so much, it’s actions prove that. So when I feel the support and I feel that the boys are all connected, not so much with me, but you’ve shown it together on the pitch, it’s the most important thing really. And they’ve clearly shown that in different ways. That’s the most pleasing thing. And then we try to guide them and help them in certain ways. But yeah, it’s satisfying when you can see them putting it together as a team.”

He was then asked “You know, now that you’re saying you’re making long-term views on things, you’ve qualified for the Champions League. I’m sure you would have watched a lot of the Champions League recently. Are you looking at how the team will evolve within a style that might not suit the Premier League but may need— that you’ll need differently in Europe?”

He answered:

“Yeah, I think it’s steps in a direction, in a positive direction. I think, um, as a football club, we need to be better in, in this, this league, you know, our own league. And that’ll take you in towards improving for the Champions League. But I think if we improve as a squad and improve as a group and we want to keep moving forward, then that’s going to help us in, in whatever competition we’re playing in. So I don’t think it’s a total focus of just because it’s Champions League now, it’s we need to go in a different direction because of that. It’s making the group stronger and believing in whatever that looks like as a club. To improve the team for sure.”

“Will that include potentially in terms of recruitment looking for more Champions League experience in terms of players?” the reporter asked.

“I think it all goes into the pot of the decisions,” he said. “There’s so many things that need to be spoken about and to when, when you’re even bringing in one player to the, to the group, there’s a lot of questions to answer and make judgments on that. So just one part of experience, whether it’s experience in the Premier League, whether it’s experience in playing in the Champions League, is not necessarily the kind of yes or no answer, you know, there’s a lot goes underneath that.”

Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images

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