Carrick confronts United's crisis ahead of Atlético trip: "That's not our mentality"

A last-gasp draw against a Tottenham side that finished the match with ten men on the pitch. That's the image hanging over Manchester United just as they prepare to travel to Madrid to face Atlético in the Champions League. It fell to Michael Carrick to explain how the club is processing it all, and he didn't hold back in his pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday's game at the Metropolitano.

United arrive at this fixture with just two wins in eight matches so far this season across all competitions. Recent losses to Manchester City and Brighton were followed by back-to-back draws, first against Fulham and then against Tottenham Hotspur, the latter leaving a particularly bitter taste. In the Premier League the picture is even more worrying: just one win in the last six games has the club sitting 13th in the table.

The Champions League, though, is a different story for now. United opened their league phase with a 4-0 rout of Sabah in matchday one, and now face a far tougher test away to Atlético Madrid. Carrick sees it as a chance to shift the momentum for a team he admits is working through a difficult patch.

"Of course we expected a lot more this season, we really did, but we are where we are," the manager said Monday. "I knew there was going to be a period where things were going to get a bit harder, a bit stickier. That's part of the process. Football, building something, is a journey. You've got to get through obstacles."

Carrick went further, addressing the noise that surrounds a team when results aren't going its way. He understands why fans react the way they do, but insists that's not how things are viewed inside the dressing room.

"I understand that when things aren't going well there's a real outcry, a feeling of 'this is a disaster, everything's wrong and we need to change everything.' I get that, but that's not our mentality, certainly not mine."Michael Carrick

There's almost a personal challenge in the way he talks about this moment for United. Carrick says these tough stretches, paradoxically, help him see who is truly committed to the long-term project.

"I like this part, when things are going against you, because you see who's really there, within the group, the squad, the club, who wants to be here for the long haul. The fans are desperate for something and we have to give it to them. You have to embrace the challenges to get where you want to go. I fully believe we're going to come out of this."Michael Carrick

It's worth remembering where Carrick is coming from in this job: he took over as head coach in January, after Ruben Amorim's departure, and the turnaround he sparked in the second half of 2025-26 was exactly what convinced the club to make his appointment permanent. But the current Premier League form is starting to weigh on him, and he admits as much without dodging the question when asked about the pressure.

"It depends on how you define pressure," he replied. "We know what we want and what we're capable of as a team. We want to be part of something successful, there's no negativity in that. There are going to be moments of struggle, but to get somewhere, to achieve something good, something big, you have to be able to go through something hard and come out the other side."

On the 1-1 draw against Tottenham at Old Trafford, with that goal conceded in the 92nd minute despite playing the closing stages with a man advantage, Carrick was self-critical but also stood up for his group.

"The margins are very fine," he explained. "The last three goals we've conceded in the league have all been avoidable. The margins are very tight. But I've got total confidence in the lads that we can win games, and win plenty of games."