Every word of Michael Carrick’s Everton press conference | OneFootball

Michael Carrick has been speaking to the press ahead of Monday evening’s Premier League clash with Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Ratcliffe comments

The first question was from Simon Stone of the BBC. Stone asked Carrick about Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s recent controversial comments about immigration.

“Yeah, I think that Sir Jim has made a statement and the club has made a statement on the back of it, really. So for me to add to that is not my place to add to that,” the boss answered.

“I think enough has been said in that regard. I think what I can say is I’ve been around this club many, many years and I think we always make a huge impact globally in whatever way. And we’re really responsible for that. And, you know, throughout the years as a player, as a member of staff, as a supporter, I think we’re really proud of the environment and the culture that we’ve got at the club. And equality and diversity and respect for each other is something that we look to carry through every day. And I’ve travelled the world and I know what this club means to an awful lot of people. So fully aware of the responsibility and we’re trying to carry that out every single day.”

Stone persisted, saying “Isn’t there a possibility that Sir Jim’s comments undermine that you were part of a multicultural squad? Sir Alex Ferguson made a point of emphasising the different backgrounds in that squad and said it was one of the reasons why you were so successful. You’re now in charge of a squad with players from all kinds of different backgrounds, both from England and overseas. Have you had to speak to them? And are Sir Jim’s comments possibly undermining unity and what you are trying to achieve?”

Carrick answered: “We’ve got a really strong group, whether that’s the players in and around the dressing room and the staff and certainly around the club and outside of the club, but certainly within the club, I think we’re in constant communication anyway. We’re here to support each other and help each other in whatever way we can.”

“So the boys have been in really good spirits this week in terms of training. We’ve had some time away, so I think that was important for a refreshing bit of a deep breath of everything, you know, for the short time we’ve kind of been together to digest everything and then come back and focus on what’s next. So we’re looking forward to the next game at this stage. But yeah, obviously we’re here to help each other, support each other in any way we possibly can.”

Another reporter added “Michael, just picking up off that, do you think comments like that can impact a group that, as Simon mentioned, are from all around the world, from different backgrounds, from different social classes as well, you know, when they see someone of such leadership at the club can that have an impact? I guess not even on the football but just in any working environment.”

He replied: “I think part of being at this club, we understand what it’s like and globally and as I said, the responsibilities we have and within this and I can only speak from my personal experiences of being here for a long time and with various managers, with various staff, supporters largely probably stayed the same, gathered some new supporters over the years, but all backgrounds, different backgrounds and it’s something we’re fully aware of and I am and I’m proud of what the club stands for and has done for so long really and I’m really aware of that.”

Team news

Carrick was then asked if there were any updates on the returns of Mason Mount and Matthijs de Ligt from injury.

“Yeah, Mason’s getting closer, I think we’re really, we’re going to be patient as well and we have, well, sorry, we have been patient with him so we don’t want to, we don’t want to push anything;” he said.

“He’s an important part of the group, Mason, and we want him we want him back and fit and he’ll have a big impact for us. So he’s getting closer, which is good for us. Matt a little bit working towards it, but as I said last week, he’s a little bit behind Mason really. So we’re just trying to work with him to progress him, to get him a bit closer really.”

The Everton game

The next question was “Michael, how do you go about beating Everton?”

He answered: “Listen, there’s a lot goes into a game. David’s teams are hard to play against, you know, and he’s such a good manager and with the experience he’s got and knowing what it takes to have success in this league and it’s a new challenge for us, you know, it’s one we’re looking forward to. I think it’s one where we’ve had a lot of time to kind of to look forward to it.”

“So yeah, it’s going to take a lot… I know it’s a new stadium, but historically it’s always been tough. It’s always been the atmosphere and the supporters that they create, I think, It’s always been one of the toughest ones that I’ve played away from home, so we’re away with that. And then trying to be our best way we can, you know. I think we’ve got things to improve on, but we’ve got a good base and a good foundation moving forward. Good spirit. So we’ll have to draw on pretty much all of that on Monday night.”

Was West Ham a backward step?

Carrick was then asked if he feels “like the West Ham performance was a little bit of a step back from what you’ve shown” and “what are the details that you think need to change for this Everton game?”

“I think we’ve got to be a bit balanced, you know, in terms of not getting carried away before that game in terms of winning games and certainly not getting carried away if it doesn’t quite, if we don’t come away with the three points,” the Wallsend man replied.

“I think there’s an understanding that games are tough to win in this league and it’s proven not just for us, so, I think a lot of the performance in terms of the control and how we went about the game was there was a lot of good things in the game. It probably got open towards the end when we were chasing it a little bit more, but we looked dangerous. And scoring a late goal is a big positive. So I think it’s an important point for us. Yeah, of course we wanted to win the game, but I’m certainly not thinking that it was all bad or it’s a big negative. I think we’re pretty balanced going into the game to what we are coming out of it really and looking for the games ahead.”

On mid-season gaps

Reporter Jamie Jackson then asked “It will have been 13 days by the time you play Everton. How has it been having an extended break like that? Has it been helpful or do you feel it’s broken the rhythm? Then how are the plans going for a mid-season friendly when the next gap comes up and how involved in the plans for that are you?”

Carrick said: “We’ve tried to make it useful, the break that we’ve had at the moment. I think we’ve tried to make it in different ways. I think it was important that when there’s change and the kind of the month or so that we had together, I think it was important for everyone to have a couple of days to digest that and take it in.”

“So the boys have trained a bit, had a few days off, trained a bit again and wanting to get the balance right of keeping the rhythm, keeping the sharpness, keeping the focus, which the boys have been, I have to say, really good in training again. And then yeah, moving forward, the fixtures have thrown up some mixture of gaps between games really. So just adjusting and adapting and we’ll see what kind of comes of that. Especially obviously the international and then a bit of a break after that. So we’ll manage it as we go but we’ll obviously try and make the best of it.”

“How do you feel on the prospects of a friendly?” he was asked. “Is it something you would welcome if that’s what the club thinks is the right thing to do?”

“It just depends on a lot of things really;” Carrick admitted. “I don’t think there’s a there’s a black or white answer with that one. I think it’s really kind of, we’ll make a call in this, there’s a bit of an area in between where it depends on where the game is, what it’s like, what time it is, when the fixtures fall, you know, so it’s not straightforward, but it’s something we need to look at, we can do if we think it’s the best for the players.”

The embargoed section of the presser will be released around 10.30pm on Sunday, check in here for every word of that part.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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