Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has called for hard work, sacrifice and respect as he tries to turn the club’s season around.
Carrick delivered an impassioned six minute speech at his news conference ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Bournemouth. His comments came after United’s 4 to 1 defeat by Como in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Captain Bruno Fernandes appeared to question Carrick’s tactics after the loss. The manager was then asked whether he had considered removing Fernandes as captain.
Carrick declined to give a direct answer. Instead, he said he would always act in the best interests of Manchester United. He also refused to discuss whether he had spoken privately with Fernandes or reveal what they might have said.
Carrick insists Manchester United can recover
In his opening remarks, Carrick admitted that United had struggled in recent weeks. However, he also pointed to a five month spell when he felt the team had made progress.
“I’ll start today. I just want to say a few things, really.
“Recently, we haven’t had a good time. I think that’s pretty obvious. So I totally accept what we’re going through at the moment.
“We had five months of relative success in a spell where I was happy with a lot of things I was seeing and that we were doing as a team.
“We haven’t done well enough lately. We’ve had a spell that we’re really not happy with.
“Wednesday was a bad night. It was a bad night for a lot of reasons. It hurt a lot.
“It obviously hurt me to see us play that way, to see how the game panned out. As I said after the game, it was really unacceptable.
“The supporters are a huge part of this football club. They have to make the effort and the time and money they spend, to feel how we all felt on Wednesday was a tough moment.”
Carrick also addressed questions about players speaking publicly after the defeat. He insisted that the dressing room was “not divided”.
The United manager then stressed that players and staff must understand the demands of representing the club. He said past success and the club’s rich history did not guarantee future victories.
“We need to respect this football club and respect what it means to be here, respect what it takes to win, what you have to do to win.
“I’m not entitled to be here. Entitlement cannot be at this football club. We’re not entitled to win. We’ve won in the past, we’ve got an incredible history, but that doesn’t mean that you’re entitled to just win.
“I’m fully aware of that. It takes hard work, takes a lot of sacrifice. You’ve got to invest yourself in the football club and you’ve got to do a lot of things that maybe aren’t so nice, but you’ve got to do it for each other, and you’ve got to win.
“I think it’s important we live up to that, and it’s important for me to push those values, and it’s important for our supporters to feel that moving forward.
“We’ve had it, we’ve kind of lost our way a little bit if I’m totally honest, and we will get it back.
“I’m totally convinced we’ll get it back. Respect this football club, respect what it takes, because it’s very, very important to me.”
United head into Sunday’s game against Bournemouth without a win in their past seven matches in all competitions. Carrick will hope his players respond on the pitch after his strong message about standards and responsibility.
Meanwhile, Antonio Conte has denied being in advanced negotiations with any club despite links to the United job. Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has also said he remains “fully focused” on his current role.
