Carrick rejects calls to quit after United's 4-4 draw with Villa

Michael Carrick dismissed suggestions he should resign after Manchester United's 4-4 Premier League draw with Aston Villa on Sunday, a result that left the club in the relegation zone ahead of the international window. When asked about his future on air he replied, "I’m not," and challenged the premise of the question with "Is there?".

United sit 18th in the table with eight points from 10 games and have recorded only one league victory this season, a home win over Ipswich in August; it is now a club record eight Premier League matches without a win. Carrick's position has been described as in the balance amid the run of poor results. He was asked on Sky Sports if he was considering his role and answered "I’m not," before responding to suggestions of imminent conversations about his future with "Is there?" and saying: "You’re telling me. I’m quite clear with what direction the club needs to go in, and it’s got to win games. We haven’t won enough games, but I expect to move forward and keep working on the things that we’ve been working on and showing a lot of the good in the game today, tighten up on a few mistakes and win football matches."

Carrick said he could see positive elements in United's performance and insisted the squad had enough quality, telling broadcasters: "Yeah, 100%. I think there’s more than enough," and adding, "Goals change games and you’ve got to deal with it, and it’s part of something we have to improve on drastically, but there’s more than enough. We’re just making it too difficult for ourselves at the moment in certain times."

Alysson opened the scoring after 59 seconds and Nicolas Jackson made it 2-0 after four minutes, with goalkeeper Senne Lammens at fault for both early goals. Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty and Youri Tielemans brought United level by half-time.

Second-half errors from Diogo Dalot and Leny Yoro allowed John McGinn and Leon Goretzka to restore Villa's lead to 4-2. Dalot's clumsy foul on Alysson conceded the penalty that McGinn scored, and Yoro's headed attempt towards his own goal resulted in Villa's messy fourth for Goretzka. In stoppage time Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu scored to salvage a point for United.

Dalot was jeered by some supporters when he was substituted in the second half. Asked whether he understood that reaction, Carrick said: "We’ve got to be careful with that, I understand the frustration of the supporters, so I get it. We’re all frustrated, we’re all disappointed, and the players are as much as anyone, I guarantee you that. Diogo, he gives absolutely everything."

Villa manager Unai Emery expressed frustration at the late equaliser, arguing that Dorgu's 96th-minute header should not have stood after Lammens, pushed up for a corner, collided with his opposite number Zion Suzuki. Emery said: "How we lost [our way] the last six minutes at the time, conceding two goals is very frustrating. The keeper, as well, is adapting but he still has work to do and how we have to defend when they are blocking us. In another country, maybe it’s a foul but here it’s not. "I am disappointed but we move on. I have to analyse this match. It is very important to analyse deeply. First half, we started very good, but they were pushing. We were resilient. We tried to change. We started very well, scoring two goals again."

United head into the international window with their next fixture scheduled to be away to Liverpool on 22 November.