Manchester United have endured their worst league start in 40 years but Michael Carrick insists he is “loving it”. United arrived in Madrid without Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw, who both picked up knocks in the draw against Tottenham at the weekend, and with the coach admitting that his team are in “a spot”, but he vowed that they would “come out fighting”. Despite collecting just six points in the Premier League so far, Carrick claimed he did not feel under pressure and backed his captain, Bruno Fernandes, who he revealed was still “carrying something”, to rediscover his form.
As he talked about building, there was a reminder too of the fact that Arsenal, the champions, finished “seventh or eighth” in Mikel Arteta’s first two seasons. I understand that when it is not going well there is a real clamour and a feeling that it’s a disaster, that it’s all wrong and that everything needs to be changed. I kind of get that, but that’s not our mindset and it’s certainly not mine.
You have to deal with things and overcome them. That is what I did throughout my career. We have to accept reality but we are building and you can’t lose sight of the journey.” On the pressure he is under, Carrick said: “It depends on how you define ‘pressure’.
There is our own expectation: we know what we want, what we are capable of and that comes from us. I don’t feel the pressure from that at all. And I think that’s what we do as a group.
We look after each other, we all know what’s out there and it’s about managing it, controlling it and staying focused on what we can do. It is about us wanting to succeed, to win. It’s also fine lines sometimes.
We are hugely confident and we have confidence in each other. I have the utmost confidence in the boys that we can win a lot of games. And, anyway, you’ve got no choice: that’s why we’re here.
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