‘If you’re not going to run…’ – Michael Carrick on Bruno Fernandes’ comments and his future after heavy defeat to Como

Michael Carrick questioned his Manchester United players’ effort during their humiliating 4-1 defeat to Como, insisting they cannot pick and choose when to give everything for the club.

The United boss questioned the motivation and desire of his side following the heavy defeat, admitting their performance was “unacceptable” and warning that tactics count for little if players are unwilling to run, when asked to respond to Bruno Fernandes questioning his side’s tactical approach.

Carrick also admitted he struggled to understand how his players could produce such a poor display after battling to a draw against Leeds on Sunday, while accepting full responsibility for the result.

“It was more than disappointing. Everybody has got to take responsibility,” Carrick said.

“I 100% take responsibility for the overall team and performance. It stops with me and I accept that.

“As a supporter of this football club for so long and I care a lot about this football club, to see a performance like that is unacceptable I have to say.”

Carrick questioned his side’s motivation and desire, insisting the standards required to represent United were not met.

“There’s all sorts of elements. I’ll definitely look at what we’ve done,” he continued.

“A lot of it is the motivation and the intention and the purpose and the intensity in a game of football that you have to bring and we didn’t bring that today.

“We’ve shown it for six and seven months but you can’t turn it on off and you can’t choose when you want to perform and don’t want to perform and when you give absolutely everything or when you maybe don’t.

“Until you do that then you’re not going to win football matches enough.”

Carrick also expressed sympathy for United’s supporters and admitted the manner of the defeat was particularly difficult to accept.

“To have to watch a performance like that, I totally feel for them. There’s no excuses at all, it’s just not acceptable.

“Genuinely, it’s difficult to understand how it can be so different. It shouldn’t be like that. We can all play well and all have poor performances but to do it in that manner is really not right at all.

“We might win and we might lose but the way we went about it tonight, I wouldn’t say everyone, but the way we went about it in some ways tonight was unacceptable.”

United captain Bruno Fernandes had suggested his side needed to be braver with their pressing against Como, but Carrick insisted the problems went beyond tactics.

“We pressed man to man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that,” he said.

“Whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run forward and you don’t run back, you’re not going to win.

“It wasn’t just the goals, if I’m totally honest, it was the manner in which we played at times. The way we went about it was the difficult thing to watch.”

Carrick also stressed that his players should be motivated by representing United rather than playing for him personally.

“It shouldn’t be me. It’s not about playing for me, it’s about playing for this football club.

“I’m in this position, I’m responsible for the football club and the supporters. I’m giving my best, absolute best all the time, I care about it and my whole life is wrapped around it.

“Listen, it might go well and it might not go so well, but I genuinely give everything that I possibly can.

“It’s really not about me and the relationship, it’s about what we all give – players, staff – for this football club.”