Michael Carrick expects to fight on at Man United despite nine-game winless run
Michael Carrick expects to still be in charge of Manchester United when they face Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday after they “unravelled” to a third consecutive defeat at Chelsea in the Premier League.
United have now gone nine games without a win after Carrick’s players failed to take their chances in an dominant first-half display at Stamford Bridge and fell apart following Morgan Rogers’ stunning goal and Lisandro Martinez’s costly red card.
Carrick, who refused to say that he was let down by Martinez’s needless sending off, was backed by United’s hierarchy earlier this week and appears committed to fighting on. Asked by TNT Sports if he believes he will be in charge against Roma, Carrick replied: “Yes”.
The former midfielder, whose position felt untenable following last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, said he was “not surprised” to be given the game at Stamford Bridge after holding talks with the clubs’’s hierarchy this week.
There are only three days until United play in-form Roma, who are unbeaten in Serie A, at Old Trafford, and it will be quickly followed by Sunday’s home match with Aston Villa, which is the last fixture to be played before the international break.
Carrick had restored captain Bruno Fernandes to his team after criticism of his tactics and it led to an improved performance from United in the first half. Carrick’s side could have taken the lead if Fernandes or Amad Diallo had taken their chances.
"We didn't come out and didn't get going in the second half,” Carrick admitted. “Half-time we could have and should have been up. Everything was positive as we hoped for. We could have made more chances.
“We looked in a good place and then found a way of unravelling the second half. A bad way to concede, penalty, and then we were right up against it at that moment. It turned right on its head. There is no hiding from the fact that we haven't won enough games.”
Carrick was again applauded by the United supporters at Stamford Bridge, but there were also some boos towards the players as they applauded the away fans.
"There is a lot of emotion,” Carrick said. “We're a great football club, and we want to win football matches. The supporters come, make a lot of effort, pay a lot of money to watch us play. You can see from today the boys had the game in the right place and things have gone against us.
“Things have gone against us and gone against us in a big way. Unravelled quickly. There’s a lot of emotion right now. We have got to move forward and take the things that worked for us today. A lot of the good things, especially in the first half and use that moving forward.”
Martinez had criticised the United hierarchy in an explosive interview following defeat at Atletico Madrid earlier this month, later apologising for his comments. But the Argentine’s sending off cost United as Cole Palmer doubled Chelsea’s lead from the spot following Rogers’ excellent opener.
Carrick did not look towards Martinez and appeared to ignore him as he made his way down the tunnel, but the under-fire United manager replied “no” when asked by TNT Sports if he felt let down by Martinez.
“It has a major importance on the game,” Carrick also told Match of the Day. “A huge moment. I think that is pretty obvious really."
Former Chelsea forward Joe Cole described Martinez’s red card as “unfathomable” during his commentary on TNT Sports.
“He has let [Carrick] down,” Cole said. “He’s made a huge error. I don’t know the lad, but he’s let his team-mates down 100 per cent. It’s a crucial moment.”
