In his pregame press conference ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Bournemouth, Michael Carrick took the unusual step of speaking before any questions had even been asked.
The Red Devils go into Sunday’s match looking for a response to a 4–1 hammering by Como in the Champions League that Carrick labeled “unacceptable” in the aftermath.
On a wider scale, United find themselves on an alarming seven-game winless streak, which is in stark contrast to the way the team finished last season with the best record in the Premier League over the final 17 rounds—better even than champions Arsenal.
So, when he sat in the chair to face the media again, it was clear that the manager wanted to get some things off his chest, primarily talking about doing right by the fans—particularly those who spent time and money following the team to Italy this week, upholding the “values” of the club carved out over decades, the “humility” and “hard work” it demands, that “entitlement cannot” exist and United being more important than any individual.
“I’ll start today,” Carrick immediately told gathered reporters on Friday, rather than waiting for an opening question. Not reading from a script, he took a moment to compose his thoughts and then spoke without interruption for almost six minutes.
“Recently, we haven’t had a good time, I think that’s pretty obvious, so I totally accept that, what we’re going through at the moment,” he said.
“We had five months of relative success in a spell where I was happy with things that I was seeing and what we were doing as a team. We haven’t done well enough lately, I think that’s pretty obvious to say. We’ve had a spell we’re really not happy with.”
Como Performance ‘Bad for a Lot of Reasons’
“Wednesday was a bad night, it was a bad night for a lot of reasons. It was a bad night and that hurt a lot. It obviously hurt me to see us play like that, to see how the game panned out.
“It was, as I said after the game, it was really unacceptable for us to play like that and to be like that. The supporters are a huge part of this football club for me, the supporters have to make the effort and spend the time and the money to come and support us on Wednesday. And to have the feeling that we all felt after the game was a tough moment. I think that’s pretty obvious.
“My responsibility is to get a team on the football pitch that represents this football club, represents the supporters, and [one] they can be proud of with the identity we showed. We have gone away from that, just recently in certain games, which I’m totally, fully aware of and definitely doing something about. I think it’s important that we all recognize that, I certainly recognize it, and our supporters are [of] the utmost importance to me and the football club.
“For them to feel like they’ve felt for five months at the start of the year, to have that connection and vigor, intensity and enjoyment and passion, that we all felt through that period, was something we need to get back to and we will get back to it, and I fully believe that, and I think it’s important that we recognize that we haven’t been doing that.”
Man Utd Values Must Be Upheld
“The foundation of this football club and the values of this football club have been etched for many years, and I totally understand and get every one of them. And it comes down to humility, it comes down to being humble, it comes down to being hardworking, and being really proud to work hard and being proud to them values. There’s a resilience about this football club that’s been shown for a long, long time, whether that’s bouncing back from adversity, whether that’s comebacks, whether that’s late goals, whether that’s success, whether that’s sustaining success. There’s a resilience in this football club that runs very, very deep, and I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I’ve felt it.
“I’m aware of some of the individuals and know them closely who have been part of that history. I said it after the game, Manchester United’s always bigger, and always has been, always will be bigger than any single individual. Bigger than me, bigger than any of the players, and it always has been.
“I’m fortunate enough to know some players and played with some myself … Ryan Giggs, arguably one of the greatest to play for this football club. It was never about Ryan Giggs, it was about Manchester United. Wayne Rooney was top goalscorer of this football club, his biggest thing was playing for the team, sacrificing for the team and what was good for Manchester United.”
It’s About Respecting the Club
“Sir Alex Ferguson, the best manager of all time, the greatest, for me, and working with him, and his main priority was Manchester United. And going back to Sir Matt [Busby], Sir Bobby [Charlton], the resilience was beyond belief for what they showed and the way they rebuilt this football club.
“Again, it was based on being humble, having humility, and hard work, and we can never lose that, and I won’t let us lose that. We’ve had it for a spell. I feel very strongly about that. It inspires me a lot to live up to that, and keep driving to that with the players and the group, we showed [it] for a good period of time and that we’re capable of it.
“Yes, we’re in a moment where it’s not gone well, so we need to show exactly what it means and, you know, respect this football club, respect what it takes 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’ve got an incredible past, an incredible history. That doesn’t mean you’re entitled to just win. I’m fully aware that it takes hard work, it 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 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’ll get it back. I’m totally convinced we’ll get it back. I respect this football club, I respect what it takes, because it’s very, very important to me.”
Add us as a preferred source on Google