Michael Carrick: Man United boss bristles at reporter’s suggestion

It is fair to say he hardly seized his opportunity, but Carrick was more measured in his evaluation of his performance.

He claimed, “to be honest, I thought it was just a difficult game for everyone. Away games like this are always demanding. There were moments when Josh linked play really well, and other times when we probably left him a bit isolated. That can happen in football.”

Carrick also said he played an “important role” in the team and that Zirkzee would not be judged in the context of one match.

Squad depth

It is common knowledge that United need squad depth for next season, when they will have to balance Champions League football with the Premier League.

Commenting on the issue, Carrick explained, “it’s only one game, and I don’t think it’s right to overanalyse it in terms of next season or the squad as a whole. We already know the quality we have, what the squad looks like, and the areas where we need to improve. One result today doesn’t suddenly change our thinking on any of that.”

Offended

The United manager bristled at the next question, which suggested the players were already in an “on the beach” mentality after securing a return to the Champions League in last Sunday’s 3-2 win over Liverpool.

Carrick asserted, “honestly, I almost get offended by that suggestion because of how the players prepared and approached the game. Sunderland made it very difficult for us, and if the players weren’t focused or motivated, we lose that game today.”

He continued, “the players have a lot of pride in themselves, in each other, and in representing this club. Motivation and focus are definitely not issues. Some performances will naturally be more difficult than others, but it won’t be because the players aren’t committed.”

Injury update

Carrick also provided an update on Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko, who both missed the match owing to injury.

He explained, “we’ll assess them, but Casemiro should be fine. It’s nothing major and he should be okay for next week. Ben has been managing a shin problem for a little while now, so we just need to handle that carefully and decide what’s best for him.”

There was controversy late in the game when Nilson Angulo seemed to unnecessarily extend his arm into Bruno Fernandes’ face. The Sunderland player escaped a card when United wanted to see a red.

Giving his take on the incident, Carrick stated, “I haven’t seen it back myself yet. Bruno said he felt there was contact and wasn’t too happy about it afterwards. The staff on the bench weren’t pleased either. At the moment, though, I’m a little confused about some of the decisions we’re seeing, so it’s probably better for me to stay out of it.”

The manager was finally asked if his team found the North-East atmospheres hard after losing to Newcastle 1-2 in March and being outplayed by Sunderland.

He retorted, “I wouldn’t say the players struggle with the atmosphere. These players are used to playing in all kinds of environments. I just think they were two separate games against good teams. We’ve also played away in difficult atmospheres before and had good results. You have to take each game on its own merits.”

Featured image George Wood via Getty Images

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