Carrick refuses to rule out dropping Fernandes after emotional Carrington address
Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick delivered a five-minute 30-second emotional address at Carrington on Friday as he battles to save his job and refused to rule out dropping skipper Bruno Fernandes for Sunday's Premier League meeting with Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
Instead of taking his seat for the scheduled pre-match media conference, Carrick chose to open the session himself — a tactic the club's former manager Sir Alex Ferguson used, although Ferguson rarely spoke at such length. The speech followed a run of seven games without a win, culminating in Wednesday's 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como, and came after public attacks on the club's hierarchy by Lisandro Martinez and Fernandes' criticism of his own tactics in Italy; Carrick said he wanted to reaffirm what he believes United stand for.
On the recent run of results Carrick said: "Recently we haven't had a good time, I think that's pretty obvious," he said. "Wednesday was a bad night, and it hurt me to see us play like that. It was unacceptable."
Carrick set out his selection priorities in another direct passage, saying: "My responsibility is to get a team on the pitch that represents this football club, and the supporters, and they can be proud of in the identity we show. We have gone away from that recently. It's important we all recognise that."
He reiterated the club's traditions and his personal connection to them: "The foundation and values of this football club have been etched for many years. I totally understand and get every single one of them." He added: "There's a resilience about this football club that runs very deep. I've seen it with my own eyes, I've felt it, I'm know some of the individuals closely who have been a big part of that history."
On standards and attitude Carrick warned: "Entitlement cannot be at this football club." He went on: "It was based on being humble, having humility, and hard work. We can never lose that, and I won't let us lose that."
Asked specifically about Fernandes and whether he has considered dropping him, Carrick replied: "The most important thing for me is the team, the squad and dynamics in the squad. It's about the football club. I'll always do what is best for the football club."
United's next fixture is Sunday's Premier League meeting with Bournemouth at Old Trafford, the match Carrick addressed media ahead of in Friday's Carrington conference.
