On September 20, at 23:30 CEST, Manchester United will face Fulham away in the 5th round of the Premier League. Ahead of the match, Manchester United manager Michael Carrick attended a press conference. This article covers the second part of the press conference.

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【Carrick: There's always a moment when you don't get what you want, the secret is how you overcome it】

You just spoke about confidence and belief on a practical level. How do you and your coaching staff specifically maintain that belief? Do you hold meetings with the players or show them videos of good moments from the past? How exactly do you do it?

We need to put things in perspective. This is in no way a devastating disaster or the end of the world. We're not in an extremely long and terrible nightmare of consecutive defeats. You know, we've only lost two games recently, and we feel that in every game we've played, we started well and were competitive throughout, and often we were even the better side in the early stages. So it's not as if we're struggling all the time.

In those games, we did many excellent things that put us in a very favorable position in the matches we played. So the belief stems precisely from those excellent things we did. Although these positives are somewhat completely overlooked amid the overwhelming emotions of the outside world, we ourselves will never ignore them.

Hello Michael, regarding the injury situation for this weekend's game, do you expect Luke Shaw to return? Also, is there any chance Carlos Baleba could make his debut?

Both do indeed have chances to return. There's no 100% certainty yet, but there is hope for both.

What's Luke Shaw's specific situation at the moment? It seems he's been out longer than expected, because initially it looked like a very short-term injury...

Yes, it was indeed a short-term injury. To be honest, right now we're just working on his recovery for the game, so we'll have to wait until the weekend to see his specific condition before making a decision.

Michael, you mentioned earlier that we obviously live in a world full of instant reactions and judgments, and that's absolutely true. But current football club owners also live in this accelerated world, and we often see managers being replaced frequently. Looking at the recent situation and history here: after the new owners took over operations, Erik ten Hag lasted only 20 months, and Ruben Amorim managed for only 14 months – which is definitely not a long time. Ultimately, results determine everything. So the reality is that while pursuing a long-term vision, you also face immense pressure for short-term results?

Yes, but I think the evaluation goes far beyond the results of one or two games. First of all, setting aside all external factors related to me, what matters most is: I understand this club, I understand this role, and I know what the expectations are here – to play to a certain standard, demonstrate a high level of performance, and achieve the corresponding results on the pitch. I know all of this very well. As for the uncertainty of the future, the ownership structure, and how long I can stay in this job – thinking about "how long can I stay" in my current position is ridiculous, it's not on my radar at all.

I'm very clear on what we need to achieve as a football club and where we should be; I understand the expectations of the owners and also the expectations of the fans – for me, the fans' expectations are equally important, if not more important, and I know what they expect to see.

I understand all of this. We've had two or three games where we didn't get the results we wanted, and two or three games is already too many for me, because I truly hate losing, but that doesn't mean the world has collapsed. In some people's minds, the world may have collapsed, but that absolutely cannot be the case for us, because we have to play, we have to win, and we have many games to prepare for, and that's exactly what we're doing now.

However, you've always been very consistent. Whenever there's a poor result, you always take responsibility. You never blame the players and never make excuses publicly or anything like that. Since you've always done this, do you think it can bring more criticism and pressure on your own shoulders?

This is my job, this is why I'm here. This is my responsibility, and I accept it completely. This is absolutely not a game of blame or shifting responsibility. Everyone is trying to find reasons, point out problems, and find someone or something to blame. Sometimes everyone seems overly fixated on finding someone or something to take the blame. Blame me? Absolutely no problem, I'll take any responsibility that comes my way.

But the main point was never about blame. For us, what's essential is finding solutions and improving. That applies to the whole club – including all the players, coaching staff, owners, and fans; it's an interconnected whole. You can direct your attention in different directions and worry about all sorts of things, but that depends entirely on where you actually focus. I'm more than willing to take responsibility, there's absolutely no problem with that, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm very clear in my mind about what we want to achieve, and we hope to get there as quickly as possible.

Hello Michael, you mentioned on Wednesday that a very careful and delicate approach is needed with Jonny Evans. I'd like to know if there's been any recent development or update on resolving his future situation? How confident are you that the club can successfully resolve his issue?

Yes, I suppose I can only repeat what I said the other day. Jonny is still a very young player, and I think what's most important is that we absolutely should not discuss his matters publicly. Given the attention, focus, and scrutiny he's facing from all sides, we must remain cautious, sensible, and protect him and put his wellbeing first, no matter what. So this situation will resolve itself naturally in some way. Making sure he's healthy and well is what matters most right now.

Traduzido por IA.

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