Every word of Michael Carrick’s embargoed Tottenham press conference | OneFootball

Michael Carrick has been speaking in the embargoed section of the pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday lunchtime’s Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

To catch up on the first part of the presser, please click here.

Carrick’s hopes of getting the permanent job

The first question was: “It’s been three games so far, three wins, flying start, Manage the Month nomination that you’ve had today. Has what’s happened in these first few games, has it in any way changed your thinking about what happens at the end of the season? Anything in your talks with the club at all? And has it wetted your appetite to try if there was ever any chance to have this job full-time?”

Carrick replied: “Nothing’s changed, no, to be honest. It’s not going to change what I do or how I feel about it. I think I’m fully aware of the role I’m doing here and the responsibility I’ve got. We want to be successful. I want the club to be successful beyond the end of the season. If that’s me, if that’s somebody else at this stage, I can’t control that. And we’ll see what happens.”

“But it’s certainly about trying to improve the team and keep making Manchester United stronger and improving all the time. But nothing’s changed. The results over a short period of time don’t change that. If they have changed that, there’s something wrong. It can’t be so knee-jerk either way, whether it’s really good or whether there’s a few issues we need to solve. It’s steady progress, really. You know that football can twist and turn just as quick. So we got to keep a bit of level, really, and keep focussing on what we need to do.

“But if this continues as it is doing, you’d be happy for your name to be part of that conversation?” he was asked.

“Listen, I’m loving what I’m doing,” he beamed. “I’m here, you know. I feel at home here, but I fully understand the situation. So I’m not getting too carried away.”

Keeping players happy

The next reporter asked: “How big is the demand management challenge for you since you’ve been back here? Because when you were here previously, it was a short period. Middlesbrough in the Championship, it’s games every three days, isn’t it? Here, you’ve not had many games and obviously everyone wants to play. There’s not enough games to go around in this squad. You look at people like Ben who’s made an impact off the bench. Do you always feel an obligation to give someone like that a start and they’ve impressed off the bench? How difficult has it been to talk to players and keep them happy when there’s just not enough games to go around?”

“Yeah, listen, picking teams is the hardest part,” Carrick admitted. “There’s no getting away from that and deciding on who plays and who doesn’t start. But the pleasing thing, and it’s probably obvious to say in many ways, but the impact that we’ve had as a squad throughout the game, boys starting, boys finishing games, It’s been incredible, to be honest, for that spirit.”

“It’s not easy. Sometimes you’re disappointed when you don’t play. But every game we’ve had a real impact finishing the game and whoever’s been on the pitch. And I think that speaks volumes with the boys’ mentality and their attitude that they’ve shown. And that’s something we need to keep. Couldn’t have been happier for Ben the other day. I spoke about it after the game, it was a huge moment for him and he totally deserves it for all them reasons. And the work he’s been putting in and the desire that he’s got to be the best version he can be. He’s been really impressive since I’ve been here. So there’s a lot more to come from Ben, I’m sure. Whether that’s this week, next week or the week after, that’s just part of being in this squad and growing together.”

“But certainly picking the team is the hardest part. But the boys have been fantastic and not given me any issues at all.”

Dorgu’s absence

Does Carrick have a timescale for the return of Patrick Dorgu?

“Not exactly, no. We’re working through it. It’ll definitely be a number of weeks, but it will be a considerable period of time. He’s not going to be back in the next two or three weeks. But to be more exact is a little bit difficult at this moment.”

The reporter asked “There’s been some speculation about 10 weeks. Could it be that long, do you think?”

“It could possibly,” Carrick confirmed. “As I said, we’re working through it. Certainly looking forward to getting him back as quick as we can and getting on the pitch long before the end of the season.”

The reporter continued “He’s been outstanding under you, in fairness, was gathering real momentum in the weeks before you came. How much of a blow is it personally and as a team to lose him?”

The boss replied: “Yeah, it’s a blow. Listen, it’s always a blow when you lose players, and they can’t be involved and we can’t choose them. And especially when you’ve had an impact like Patrick did over the last few weeks and just finding that next level. And unfortunately, football throws things up in the ups and downs.”

“For this short period of time, he’s disappointed. He wants to be fit, but his career – he is going to have a career for the next 10 or 15 years. And hopefully this is just a little moment for him. Coming off the back of the huge positive and the huge impact that he just had, I think when he comes back, he’ll be even stronger again.”

Why did he bring in Steve Holland?

He was then asked “Can I just ask about Steve Holland and where the idea for that appointment came from and also how important he’s been to what you’re doing on the training pitch and also the run of results that you’ve had?”

“I think when talks were progressing, really, when it looked like I might be coming in here, I was spending some time thinking about what the staff might look like,” he explained. “I was actually talking, having conversations with my brother, actually, as I do all the time, of what it might look like. We ended up mentioning Steve. He knew him from the FA, and I’d come across Steve a number of times. Fully aware of his experience and his quality as a coach as well as a person as well. So it ticked a lot of boxes, and it went from there. I spoke to Steve and we clicked straight away. As the rest of the staff, to be honest, with Jonathan, Johnny, and Travis, and Craig, I think there’s been a real good balance and a good connection between us and it feels like we’ve been together for much longer than just these three weeks.”

Is there a common ground with Holland because they had both worked under José Mourinho?

The Wallsend man answered: “I think it’s more of just the experience in general, at the level that he’s had vast experience with so many in different scenarios. He obviously been at Chelsea for so long, obviously, growing up around here being a massive United fan helps to start with. But being at Chelsea and being successful, winning trophies, knowing what it takes, different styles, different managers, different types of players. He’s had a really good knowledge and backstory, really, if you like, of experience to pick at and we speak a lot about different things, all of us, all the staff.”

“So there’s the connection. Obviously, José, I learned a lot from José in the five months when I was coaching, even in that, when you see how he works, how he thinks, and how he sees players and things that end up coming off that he predicted at a certain times. So he had a real good eye for that. So there’s certainly that connection. I wouldn’t say it’s totally me and Steve with José, but there’s definitely them. They’re common factors that help us work together for sure.”

On Kobbie Mainoo and the midfield

A reporter then asked: “Kobbie has been a big winner of you arriving here. Obviously, he didn’t have many chances previously. I wouldn’t expect you to talk about that necessarily. But what did you see in him that convinced you to throw him straight in from a starting role? And also, you’ve mentioned several times, you know this club, you know what it’s about. Academy players have always, since the Munich air disaster, have always been a huge part of this club. Is he the player this club can be building around for long term, many years into the future, possibly even beyond you?”

“It was just my thoughts to put him into the team,” Carrick answered. “I thought he would give us an awful lot. I think from the club’s point of view, it’s an ideal scenario to bring players through the academy and have them in the team and have them go through their career at this club and stay in and around it. I think I was fortunate enough to be with a lot of players that managed to do that. I think it’s important.”

“Obviously, with Munich and the foundation of the football club, everything feeds off that. So I’m not putting everything on Kobbie’s shoulders. He’s doing terrific at the moment and I’m sure he’ll continue to be that way. We want more of that. We want more players to come through the system and to get into the first-team. For me, there’s no better feeling of giving younger players a chance. He’s taken the chance over the recent weeks, and as I said, I’m sure he’ll continue to do that.”

The final question was about the lack of midfielders in the first team squad. If needed, would he “look to promote an academy player or other players? We’ve seen Lisandro play midfield this season, maybe Mason Mount. How would you deal with that situation?”

The former England man replied: “Yeah, it’s all sorts of things can happen. So it’s not a one fix. I think we’ve got a really good balance of a squad in general. So there’s plenty of solutions for us. Mainoo has obviously come on and he’s going to be a big part of our squad and our team between now and the end of the season and sharing the load. We’ve got different things that we can do. It just depends what happens. We’ve got to be able to adapt and be flexible. But I’m confident we can find the right solutions if we needed to. But at the moment, we’re pretty stable and we’re in good shape.”

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 12.30pm.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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