Every word of Michael Carrick’s Leeds United press conference | OneFootball

Michael Carrick has been speaking to the media ahead of Manchester United’s home Premier League fixture against Leeds United on Monday.

The Rivalry

The first question was about the rivalry between United and their West Yorkshire opponents.

“It’s gone on for an awful long time,” Carrick said. “I think that’s what rivalries are there for a really good reason, I think to be part of. And the intensity and the emotion and the passion that goes into it. Obviously there’s got to keep within the margins, but I think that’s part of the game we love, you know, and going up against other teams and essentially other areas, you know, and battling it out on the pitch.”

“So I think it’s something that we got to embrace and it’s, as I say, it’s why we’re involved for these type of games. And we’re certainly aware of it. I’m certainly aware of it. The players are aware of it. The extra that it means on top of the standard three points. So, yeah, we’re looking forward to it. A big night for us.”

A reporter asked if the stadium atmosphere could help give United the edge.

“Yeah, hopefully it cranks it up, you know, and the stadium is alive,” he replied. “I’m sure it will be. It has been. It’s been unbelievable playing at home and the boys have responded and thrived off it, really. And with the supporters giving that balance and coming with us and spurring us on when we’ve needed that. So I expect it to be the same and with an extra little bit of edge because of it being Leeds.”

The next question was: “It’s been a big week of announcements with Harry Maguire’s extension and also the club’s preseason schedule being confirmed for next season as well. Just wonder how much you’re involved in that planning? Even when it came to Harry, with the likes of Jason and Omar, do you feel like you are having a big influence on those type of decisions as well?”

The boss replied: “Certainly in the role, I mean, decisions need taking care of and I said it as soon as I came here, you know, I’m part of that, of helping, whatever that looks like moving forward. I’m part of that and trying to improve things and make things better all the time. So, yeah, certainly there’s conversations in different directions and different things that I’m definitely part of and I think it should be that way anyway, because things need done, you know, so I’m here to take care of that.”

On Mason Mount

“Just on Mason Mount as well,” the reporter continued. “We saw him come back against Bournemouth for a few minutes. Just wonder, is he now ready to maybe have that strong start end to the season, I should say. But also, where do you see him kind of fitting in to this team? Under Reuben we saw him playing one of those 10 positions, but the system has slightly changed. So where do you see him potentially fitting into the team?”

The Wallsend man answered: “First of all, it’s great to have Mason back, you know, to miss him so quickly after we came in and came together. So he’s obviously had nearly two, two, three weeks of building up and finding his rhythm, finding his sharpness.”

“So, yeah, it’s great to have him, but I think his versatility is a big strength of his worth. He can play through the middle, he can play midfield, he can play wide, you know, and he can do so many different roles, and he’s certainly a team player, but he’s a player that I really like. I think there’s loads to come from Mase. You know, we just got to give him the time to get fit again and be patient with that. But he’s certainly in a good place right now.”

Carrick was then asked whether he would have any qualms about putting Lisandro Martinez straight back into the side on Monday, in Harry Maguire’s absence.

“It’s just that call that we make, you know, we wouldn’t be pushed into anything,” he answered. “I think it’s important that the boys are ready. It’s as important as the next game always is. Being the most important is the bigger picture. So that’s a decision that we’ll take. He’s back training, which is great, and back on the grass. But we’ve certainly got to make the right decision and make sure he’s ready.”

Where in the world is Matthijs de Ligt?

The BBC’s Simon Stone then asked “We’ve spoken a lot about Matthijs de Ligt that he obviously wasn’t there. You’ve said before it’s backs and unpredictable and there’s no kind of time scale. But what is he actually doing? So when he’s back here, what is he doing?”

The manager replied: “Treatment and rehab. And the reason he didn’t come, he’s not quite on the grass. So Patrick came back, came with us and Pat’s at that stage a little bit further on. So Matt is not quite at that stage yet. So it was important for him to continue his rehab really and try and get him back. There’s nothing else really around it, you know, it’s just…”

Stone interrupted, asking “so what does rehab look like for back problems?”

“Do you want me to dissect his day?,” Carrick replied. “No, it’s different treatment and different exercises. He’s obviously in the gym and he’s doing work, but he’s not quite on the grass and he’s not ready for that yet. So that’s kind of the process that unfortunately when you’re injured, you’ve got to go through and sometimes it happens quicker than others and sometimes there’s things that don’t quite go to plan and it’s a bit slower and he’s just at that stage where he’s working through that at the moment and we’re trying to get him back.”

Carrick was then asked for an injury update ahead of the game.

“Yeah, that pretty much it really,” he said. “Lisandro’s back, Patrick’s back on the grass, but he’s further away. He’s not back on the grass with the team. He’s back as part of his rehab. And other than that, really, we’re in good shape.”

The next question was “in terms of the Leeds rivalry that you sort of touched on earlier, what role has Jonathan Woodgate played in making people realise how it feels from the other end?”

“Not loads, actually,” he replied. “I think we’re all aware of what the game means to the football club, to the supporters and. Yeah, just kind of repeating what I’m saying. I think it’s something you’ve got to thrive on and understand when you play certain games, what it means for the wider picture and for so many people in different ways, you know, and sometimes it’s what you call a normal game. Sometimes it’s a little bit of a twist to it, and this is certainly one of them.”

“Jonathan’s got his head down on that one?” the reporter asked.

“No, he’s working as normal, so there’s absolutely no issue with that,” the boss replied.

The embargoed section of the presser will be published in full here when it’s released on Sunday at 10.30pm.

Featured image George Wood via Getty Images

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