Carrick disagrees with Ten Hag: I don't need anyone to tell me when things are going well

The Manchester Evening News website said: "Carrick finds himself in a situation similar to that of Ten Hag towards the end of his tenure, fighting for his future while the spotlight falls heavily on the senior management, foremost among them sporting director Jason Wilcox, who was the subject of criticism inside the dressing room last week," something Lisandro Martinez declared after the recent Atletico Madrid match.

It continued: "Ten Hag had accused United's football leadership of failing to back him in the transfer market and of not showing him sufficient support."

Carrick, though, sees it differently. The matter has never troubled him, and he insists he has always felt the management behind him.

"Yes, yes. Why not?" he replied when asked whether he feels supported.

He went on: "I don't need any reassurances. I know my role and my responsibilities, and I don't need anyone to tell me when things are going well or when they need to improve. I know that myself."

"I recognise the reality, and I have no problem with it," he added. "We have to win matches for things to go as they should, and that's something we can change ourselves."

On the team's performance since his return, he said: "The players and the coaching staff gave everything they had. We achieved good results in some matches, others where we want to improve our performance, and we made some mistakes."

"But our performance over the weekend, as well as for long spells against Atletico Madrid, showed great cohesion, desire and determination to improve for one another," he continued.

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Carrick has a selection headache against Como. Eight players are missing through injury or illness, and Leny Yoro is suspended after his red card in last week's 0-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Carrick said of Lisandro Martinez: "His condition isn't too bad, but he isn't with us. We'll see whether he'll be ready to face Bournemouth at the weekend."

On the rest, he added: "Kobbie Mainoo may need around another 10 days, but there's no set date, while Luke Shaw will be out for a little longer."

He continued: "Ayden Heaven is ill, and Marcus Rashford is still suffering a minor thigh problem that we're working on, and we hope that will happen soon."

Benjamin Sesko, Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte are also sidelined through injury.

United's party touched down in Italy on Tuesday evening in heavy rain. Asked whether the weather or the pitch might affect the match, Carrick said: "There are no immediate concerns for me. We're fairly used to the rain, and we'll deal with the situation in the best possible way."

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