Michael Carrick has admitted that Manchester United were difficult to watch during an “unacceptable” 4-1 Champions League thrashing by Como, but insists he is not concerned about losing his job as manager.
The three-time European champions were outclassed by the Italian debutants at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Wednesday, as the embarrassing defeat extended their winless run to seven matches in all competitions.
Carrick’s position has come under scrutiny amid United’s slump, which has included their worst start to a league season for 40 years, but he told a news conference that he was not fearing for his position.
“I have not given my own position any thought,” Carrick said.
The Old Trafford boss insisted that his apology to the travelling fans at the end of the game held no extra significance as pressure builds on his position.
“I always go over to the fans regardless,” Carrick said.
“It wasn’t a particularly different reason why I went over. I think it’s the appreciation and acknowledgement of what they have gone through and what they have done over a period of a few weeks now. But particularly tonight.”
‘It was tough to watch’
United fell behind within two minutes to a Nico Paz goal, becoming the first English team ever to concede in the opening two minutes of two consecutive major European matches, having gone behind one minute into a 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid last week.
Cesc Fabregas’s side romped into a deserved 4-0 lead in northern Italy before substitute Joshua Zirkzee pulled back a stoppage-time consolation and Carrick admitted he was alarmed by the manner in which his team were outplayed.
“For us to play in that way, it’s not acceptable,” he said. “It wasn’t a good performance at all. We wanted to build on what we brought and the performance we had at Leeds.
“That bit of intensity, that spirit, that aggression, that real willingness to give everything. Tonight was the total opposite performance. I have to say, it was tough to watch.”
“There’s a lot going through my mind, watching that,” he continued. “Genuinely, it’s difficult to understand how it can be so different [from the Leeds performance].
“It shouldn’t be like that. We can all play well, we can all have poor performances, but to do it in that manner is really not right at all.”
Next up for Carrick’s side is a home Premier League game against Bournemouth on Sunday.
“I’m frustrated, more than frustrated, I’m really angry, to be honest,” Carrick said.
“You’ve got to move on, you’ve got to deal with what’s next and see what that looks like. At this moment in time, there’s a lot to do before that next game to get the team ready because that was a difficult night for everyone tonight.”
Source: www.aljazeera.com
