Carrick stresses ‘it’s not about blaming people’ for Man United’s problems
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Matheus Cunha and Diogo Dalot of Manchester United look dejected after the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on September 16, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Michael Carrick continued his defensive as Manchester United made a slow start to the season.
The Red Devils have dropped eight points in the last month, only four fewer than the total tally lost during Carrick’s four-and-a-half-month spell as interim head coach between January and May.
·‘I really hate losing. But that doesn't mean the world caves in’
The media have probed for answers, but Carrick is choosing to be cool and composed while acknowledging all the reasons that the outside noise exists around the Red Devils for now.
“In terms of future and ownership and how long I've got in the job, that's not in my thinking, not one part of it. Like, how long I’ve got. It's ridiculous to think that way in a position that I'm in; that's just not on the radar.
“I really hate losing. But that doesn't mean that the world caves in. In some minds, it does. It can't for us because we've got to perform, we've got to get wins, and we've got a lot of games to plan for. That's exactly what we're doing.
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“It's not that I don't feel the emotion of losing football matches, but it doesn't affect how I think about what we need to do next. I think that's the most important thing.
“It's fine margins, and then everything escalates from then, and we live in a world of instant reaction, instant judgment. Which is fine; it's how it is, but it's not in my world.
“It's being realistic and then understanding this was going to come and being ready for it and knowing, learning about each other, it's really important and building on it for what's to come.
“Blame me, no problem, I'll take the responsibility, whatever it is, but it's not about blaming people. For us, it's about finding the solutions and being better, and that's as a whole football club, as a group of players, as staff, as owners, supporters, it's a whole collective thing. You can put it in different directions. You can worry about different things. It's about what you focus on, really.
“I'm totally happy taking responsibility. Absolutely no problem with that. It doesn't bother me. I just know where we want to get to, and we want to get there fast.
“[Things] are my responsibility. I'm fine with that. It's not a blame game. We always search for things to look at and point at and somebody or, for whatever reason it may be, and find blame. Sometimes, it gets almost like too much of a thing if you want to find someone to blame or something to blame. "