Interim coach says Solskjaer available to provide support “if I ever need him”
Michael Carrick has said Manchester United won’t simply repeat their strategy against Manchester City when they face Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday.
United beat City 2-0 but face another tough test against arguably the most in-form team in Europe. The interim coach said the Gunners have their own unique way of playing that will demand a different kind of approach from United.
“Every game’s different,” Carrick said. “Even if you come in half-time and you’ve had a good performance for 45 minutes, I’m never one that likes to say: ‘Same again.’ Because it’s never, ever the same again. You’ve kind of got to build on it.
“So it won’t be a kind of copy and paste. There’s new elements that need to come into it. We need to be ready, be at our best. And if we are our best and we’re there, we feel we’ve got a good chance. It’s just about playing what we feel the game needs.”
United’s interim coach said he has had conversations with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, his rival earlier this month for the job, and that he Norwegian is always available to offer support should he need it.
“Yes, I spoke to him,” Carrick said. “I’m close, we’ve been through a lot together, so he’s been fully supportive as you’d expect. He’s some man and I respect him an awful lot. He wished us all the best and he was happy that we got the right result against Manchester City.”
“With friendships, you have conversations. I’ve got a lot of friends in places that I can kind of pick on if I need to be. I’m not one that bothers a lot of people, to be honest. But he’s certainly there if I ever need him.”
Carrick praised Patrick Dorgu, who was outstanding against City and scored United’s second. The Dane has taken his game up a notch since switching from wing-back to a winger role.
“He can do both,” Carrick said. “He was immense last week: his work rate and the way he played the position. I wouldn’t want to pin him down.”
