Michael Carrick took the extraordinary step of opening his Manchester United press conference with an impassioned five-minute monologue amid mounting pressure at Old Trafford.
Carrick’s position is in the spotlight following United’s humiliating 4-1 loss to Como in the UEFA Champions League midweek – a result that extended the club’s winless streak to seven games.
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United are currently enduring their longest drought since 2015, while the Red Devils have made their worst start to a league season in 40 years as speculation links the likes of Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and Julian Nagelsmann to the Premier League giants.
There has also been criticism from captain Bruno Fernandes, with defender Lisandro Martinez calling out the club’s hierarchy.
But rather than wait to be questioned about the situation, Carrick delivered a statement lasting more than five minutes before opening the floor to reporters ahead of United’s showdown against Bournemouth on Monday (AEDT).
“I’ll start today,” Carrick said. “Just want to say a few things, really. I think it’s important. I think 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, we had five months of relative success in a spell where I was happy with a lot of things that I was seeing and that we were doing as a team.
“We haven’t done well enough lately. I think that’s pretty obvious to say. And 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, and it was a bad night that kind of hurt a lot. And 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, to see the supporters after making the effort and the time, spending the money to come and support us on Wednesday, and having the feeling after the game, as we all felt, was a tough moment. I think that’s pretty obvious.
“My responsibility is to get a team on the pitch that represents this football club, represents the supporters, and they can be proud of the identity that we show. We have gone away from that just recently in certain games, which I’m totally fully aware of and definitely doing something about. So, I think it’s important that we all recognise that. I certainly recognise it.
“Our supporters are of the utmost importance to me in this football club. For them to feel like they felt for five months at the start of the year, for us to have that about us and that connection and that real vigour and intensity and enjoyment and passion that we all felt through that period was something that we need to get back to. And we will get back to it. I fully believe that, but I think it’s important that we recognise that we haven’t been doing that.
“The foundation of this football club and the values of this football club have been put down and etched for many, many years. I totally understand, and I get every single one of them. It comes down to humility, it comes down to being humble, it comes down to being hard-working and being really proud to work hard and being proud to live up to those 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. 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 a big part of that history.
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“I said it after the game: Manchester United is always bigger, and it 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 was fortunate enough to know some players myself and play with some. 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. Sir Alex Ferguson, the best manager of all time, the greatest for me, working with him and his main priority was Manchester United. Going back to Sir Matt, Sir Bobby, 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. 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. I think 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 through it for a good period of time, and that we’re capable of it. At the moment, yeah, we’re in a moment where it’s not going well.
“So, we need to show exactly what it means and 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 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 confident we’ll get it back. Respect this football club, respect what it takes, because it’s very, very important to me.”
The extraordinary opening address set the tone for a press conference dominated by questions about the club’s direction, dressing-room unity and Carrick’s relationship with his players.
Fernandes had publicly questioned United’s tactics following the defeat to Como, while Martinez has also aired frustrations amid the team’s deteriorating results.
Asked whether those comments reflected divisions within the squad, Carrick rejected the suggestion.
“It’s not divided. We just need to get back to doing what we do best. And we will,” he said.
The United boss was also pressed on whether Fernandes could face disciplinary action, including losing the captaincy or being dropped from the team.
Carrick stopped short of ruling out either possibility, insisting his responsibility was to make decisions in the club’s best interests.
“The most important thing for me is the team and the dynamics in the squad. It is about the football club,” he said.
“Whatever the situation is, I will always do what is best for the football club.”
Despite the growing pressure, Carrick maintained that the difficulties had only strengthened his determination to turn United’s fortunes around.
He also insisted the responsibility for the team’s performances ultimately rested with him.
“I will hold that umbrella for me to get wet and everyone else to stay dry,” Carrick said. “That is the privileged position I am in.”