After Manchester United suffered a crushing 4-1 away defeat to Como in the third round of the Champions League group stage, manager Carrick was interviewed by TNT Sports.
Michael, this was a difficult and disappointing night. Who do you think is responsible for the performance the team showed tonight?
Yes, tonight was far worse than just "disappointing." To be honest, I think everyone here has to take responsibility. Personally, I am 100% willing to take full responsibility for the entire team and the overall performance in this match. The buck stops with me. I have no objections to that; I fully accept it. However, as someone who has deeply loved and supported this club for a long time, I care very much about it, and to see a performance like today's... I have to say, it's completely unacceptable.
As you said, as someone who deeply loves this club, is your most immediate emotion right now anger at the team's performance, or does this lead you to self-reflection and questioning your tactical setup?
A match performance involves various elements from all aspects, and I will definitely scrutinize and reflect on everything we did today. But many times, the core issue lies in motivation, intention, clarity of purpose, and the intensity and commitment you must show in a football match. We completely failed to bring those things onto the pitch today.
The team has now gone seven consecutive matches without a win. Do you think this reflects the true level of this group of players?
What?
Seven games without a win. Do you think this is the highest level of performance this team can show right now, or do you still have ways to improve the team's situation?
Absolutely not! This is not our true level, because over the past six or seven months, we have already shown everyone what kind of football this team can play. But you can't just switch your form on and off like a switch. You can't choose when you want to perform well and when you don't, or when you want to give your all and when you want to hold back. So until you completely solve this problem and achieve consistency, you won't win enough matches.
At the end of the match, you apologized to the traveling fans. Many fans had already left during the second half. What do you want to say to them? You know better than anyone what discussions and public opinion will follow this match. How do you want to convince them that things will improve and that you can turn the situation around?
I love and care about our fans tremendously. They are the soul and heartbeat of this football club, always have been, always will be. To the fans who traveled so far to watch the game, I must sincerely apologize for the team's terrible performance today and for all the effort they made to be here tonight, only to have to endure such a match. I completely empathize with them and am deeply pained by it. There are no excuses; today's performance was simply unacceptable.
You previously said you have always received strong support from the management. Do you still expect the club to continue giving you such backing? If so, what do you think is needed now to thoroughly improve the situation?
What happened tonight has nothing to do with me personally; this is really not about me. To be honest, the immediate priority right now is to properly digest and absorb this game and carefully analyze how the match unfolded. I think that's the most important thing at hand.
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