Michael Carrick has insisted he is enjoying the challenge of turning around Manchester United’s season despite their worst league start in 40 years.
The head coach is urging his players to stay together before Tuesday’s Champions League visit to Atletico Madrid.
United have collected only six points in the Premier League and won two of their eight matches in all competitions. Their latest setback was a 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Old Trafford on Saturday, when they conceded an equaliser in the 92nd minute despite Spurs playing the closing stages with 10 men.
Carrick acknowledged that United had fallen short of expectations but rejected calls for wholesale changes. He said the team must accept its position and work through the difficulties rather than lose faith in the project.
“To do something good, to do something great, you have got to be able to do something difficult,” he said.
“We hoped for a lot more, we expected a lot more, and we are where we are. I was aware that, winning as many as we had [last season], it was going to get more challenging, stickier.”
United travel to Madrid without Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw, who picked up knocks against Tottenham. They will hope to build on their 4-0 victory over Sabah in their opening Champions League fixture, which offered a contrast to their poor domestic form.
Carrick, who took charge in January and helped revive United’s fortunes last season before being appointed permanently, said external criticism had not affected his approach. He believes the current run will test the commitment of the players and staff as they try to build a successful team.
“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,” he said. “I kind of get that, but that’s not our mindset and it’s certainly not mine.”
He added: “I don’t feel the pressure from that at all.”
Carrick said United’s recent results had been shaped in part by narrow margins, pointing to the last three goals they have conceded in the league as avoidable. Despite one win in their past six Premier League matches, he remains convinced the squad can improve.
“I have the utmost confidence in the boys that we can win a lot of games,” he said. “I know them, I know how much they care, I know how strong the group is.”
Bruno Fernandes is among those Carrick expects to regain his best form. The United captain has faced questions over his performances, but the manager revealed he had been playing through a fitness problem.
“He’s a top player, Bruno,” Carrick said. “Sometimes things don’t quite go for you, but he’s done some incredible things for this football club and he will do the same in the future, there’s no doubt about that.”
Carrick said Fernandes was now close to overcoming the issue and had looked sharp in training on Monday.
“He was carrying something,” he said. “People don’t maybe realise it, but it happens a lot: players play with issues. I probably played 80% of the games with some sort of issue. It’s not ideal, but it’s manageable.”
The manager also pointed to Arsenal’s progress under Mikel Arteta as evidence that building a successful side can take time. Arsenal finished seventh or eighth in Arteta’s first two seasons before going on to become champions.
Tuesday’s match provides an opportunity for United to respond in Europe while their domestic difficulties continue. Carrick said the club’s supporters remained desperate for success and that the squad had a responsibility to give them something to believe in.
“You have to embrace the challenge,” he said. “I totally believe that we’ll work through it.”
