What did Michael Carrick say about Man United? Manager gives passionate speech ahead of Bournemouth match image
Things have taken a turn for the worst at Manchester United this season, and the pressure is beginning to pile up on top of manager Michael Carrick.
The former United midfielder was brought in last season as interim manager to replace Ruben Amorim, and led the club to an impressive third-placed finish, securing a spot in the Champions League and hopes for even more improvement this year as the Red Devils hope to eventually return amongst the title challengers.
Instead, they've fallen right back down the hill this season, currently 13th in the Premier League table and losing two of their first three Champions League games, including a damaging 4-1 defeat at Como this week that has soured much of the conversation around the club as they prepare to meet Bournemouth in domestic action on the weekend.
Carrick has attempted to get supporters back on his side by making a lengthy speech at his recent press conference, invoking the club's storied history and vowing to fans that they will turn around the rough run of form.
MORE: What went wrong for Michael Carrick at Manchester United?
Michael Carrick gives passionate speech on Man United history
After sitting down on Friday for his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester United's match against Bournemouth, Michael Carrick decided to make a passionate speech, reaffirming his position as Red Devils manager and waxing lyrical about the club's storied history.
Before taking any questions, Carrick spoke for nearly six minutes on the club's current struggles.
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"I think recently we haven't had a good time, I think that's pretty obvious," he began after sitting down. "I totally accept that."
He pointed to the success the club had through the second half of last season with Carrick as interim boss,
"Wednesday was a bad night, it was a bad night for a lot of reasons, and it was a bad night that kind of hurt a lot, it obviously hurt me to see us play that way, to see how the game panned out, and as I said after the game it was really unacceptable to play like that and to be like that. The supporters are a huge part of this football club, and for me to see the supporters have to to make the effort and spend the time and money to come support us on Wednesday and then to have the feeling after the game like we all felt was a tough moment.
Carrick took responsibility for getting the club to a place that supporters "can be proud of the identity that we show" even if they've "gotten away from that" so far this season.
"For [the supporters] to feel like they felt for five months at the start of the year, to have that about us and have that connection and that real vigor and intensity and passion that we all felt is something we need to get back to, and we will get back to it, I fully believe that," Carrick claimed.
"It comes down to humility, it comes down to being humble, it comes down to being hard working, and it comes down to being proud to live up to those values. There's a resiliency 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. I've seen it with my own eyes, I've felt it, I am aware of the individuals and know them closely who are a big part of that history."
Carrick then started to name-drop many of the best players in the club's history who have carried the best moments for the Red Devils.
"I said it after the game, Manchester United is always bigger, and always has been and always will be bigger than any single individual. Bigger than me, bigger than any of the players, and it always has been. I've been fortunate to know some of the players and played with them myself, you know, 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 the top goal scorer for this football club, his biggest thing was playing for this team and sacrificing for this team, and what was good for Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson, the best manager of all-time, the greatest for me, working with him, his main priority was Manchester United. Going back to Sir Bobby [Robson], the resilience was beyond belief of 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 had it for a spell. I feel very strongly about that, it inspires me a lot to live up to that, and keep driving that with the players in the group that we have. We've shown for a good period of time we're capable of it. At the moment, yeah we're in a moment where it's not gone well, so we need to show exactly what it means. 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're not entitled to win. We've won in the past, we've got an incredible history, but that doesn't mean you're just entitled to win. I'm fully aware of 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. And 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."
He finished by admitting the club has driven off the road for a bit now, but promised he would find the path again soon.
"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 confident we'll get it back. We'll respect this football club, respect what it takes, because it's very very important to me."
Michael Carrick addresses Bruno Fernandes comments again
After the defeat to Como on Wednesday, captain Bruno Fernandes seemed to openly question Michael Carrick's tactics in the match, particularly the decision not to press high and win the ball back.
Carrick responded to those comments in the post-match press conference, and was asked about the situation again, particularly whether he would strip Fernandes of his captaincy for questioning the manager's approach. This time, he fully sidestepped the question.
"Whatever the situation is I will always do what is best for the football club." Michael Carrick responds to questions about Bruno Fernandes' comments 🎙️ https://t.co/Fklj9bftS8
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"The most important thing for me is the team, first and foremost, is the squad, the dynamics in the squad," Carrick said. "It's about the football club, and I'll always do what's best for the football club."
When pressed about it again, he repeated, "whatever the situation is, I'll always do what's best for the football club."
Another reporter followed that line of questioning, asking whether he had spoken to Fernandes about the comments he made, but would not oblige.
"If I've spoken to him, I've spoken to him, I don't think this is the time to go into too much detail."