Michael Carrick knows Manchester United have to respond to the Hull City defeat, but he isn’t concerned about one bad afternoon turning into a crisis.
Manchester United lost 2-0 in the opening game after Hull punished them twice from set pieces. The performance was poor, and there has been plenty of criticism since. Carrick’s message ahead of the Ipswich Town game, however, was much more measured.
For Michael Carrick, the reaction is what matters now.
Michael Carrick wants Manchester United to learn from Hull
Michael Carrick pointed to setbacks United had last season against Leeds United and Newcastle United. On both occasions, his side responded by winning their next match.
He wants the same reaction this time.
“Yeah. Listen, I think your success comes from how well you deal with setbacks in the end,” Michael Carrick said ahead of the Ipswich game.
Carrick accepts that bad results will happen during a season. What separates teams, in his view, is what happens afterwards.
“So far, we’ve dealt with those setbacks really well within games and game to game. We had one last week, there’s no getting away from it, and it’s disappointing, but we’re looking to bounce back.”
The United manager believes the squad have used the week properly.
“We’ve had a good week. The boys have re-focused, learnt from where we could have improved and kept pushing forward.”
There has also been criticism aimed at United’s leadership and mentality, particularly with Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans both on the pitch against Hull.
Carrick isn’t buying that explanation.
“It’s one game, so I think there’s enough leadership in our dressing room and we’ll have it throughout the season.”
He also pushed back on the suggestion that a lack of passion was the reason for the defeat.
“Just because we lose a game, it’s not just about leadership. I had [accusations of a lack of] passion thrown at me after the game, but it’s not just that. You lose two set plays like we did and it changes the game.”
Carrick refuses to reduce football to passion
Michael Carrick was particularly keen to challenge the idea that effort alone explains results.
“But you’ve watched football for a long time, right? Teams lose games and win games, and it’s not just because you try or you don’t try.”
Carrick admitted there were things Manchester United could have done better, but he doesn’t think everything should be judged through the emotion of the result.
“It’s the obvious answer. I think there’s a lot that goes into a game of football that we can take from.”
He made the same point when asked about the manner of the defeat.
“Yeah. It’s still just a game, though. We’ve probably played like that and won games, and everyone goes, ‘What a great team, what a great coach, what a great load of players,’ when we find a way to win 1-0.”
That doesn’t mean Carrick is ignoring the problems. He simply wants his staff and players to look at the detail.
“We’ve got to dig deeper than that and understand the details of it.”
That approach also applies to Carlos Baleba, whose long-awaited move from Brighton has finally been completed.
Carrick explained why it took so long to bring the midfielder to Old Trafford despite United’s interest going back around a year.
“There are all sorts of reasons. Within football, the window takes things to get into place for certain situations is not always straightforward, and things have got to drop.”
United eventually waited for the right opportunity and got their man.
“Carlos is definitely one of them. We’re delighted to have him for the season, and once he gets going in the next two to three weeks, he’ll be really strong.”
That is now the focus. Forget the noise around Hull. Carrick wants United to respond on the pitch and let the football do the talking.
