Michael Carrick addressed Manchester United's technical issues amid a dismal run of results, speaking ahead of Sunday's home clash with Aston Villa at Old Trafford in the tenth round of the Premier League.
United sit 17th with 7 points from the opening 9 rounds, their worst start in Premier League history. You have to go back to 1986-87 to find a worse start in the English top flight overall, when they picked up just 5 points. That return cost Ron Atkinson his job after 13 matches and ushered in Sir Alex Ferguson.
United's fans are marking the 40th anniversary of Ferguson's arrival, the legendary manager who shaped the club's modern history. Carrick reflected on the occasion at Friday's press conference, as reported by the "BBC" website: "It is without doubt an event worth celebrating as a football club. All the impact and the successes that were achieved came through his direct push forward. On a personal level, I am perhaps closer to him and speak with him now more than I did when I was a player under his leadership. Relationships change and evolve with the passing of time, and that is very natural, but from the moment he arrived here, his influence on me as an individual was absolutely enormous."
Asked about the comparisons between his own early days and Ferguson's difficult start at the club, along with his thoughts on Tuesday's comeback win over Roma, when United recovered from two goals down to win 3-2 in the Champions League, Carrick replied: "More comparisons, you always find something to compare it with, and it is up to us to move the team forward. It was a great night against Roma, an exceptional night in which we scored goals out of nothing, and I think we played very well and deserved the win. But nothing is over yet, and we have not achieved anything so far. It is just a moment in time that we must take advantage of to move forward, and we definitely need more of these moments."
Can he predict United's level amid such fluctuating form this season? The English manager explained: "When you re-watch the Roma match, you find that the first half was not too bad, but there were moments in which we let ourselves down. These are the fine details that we must address and clean up from the team's performance, because the small moments here and there are what change the course of matches, and this is the reality of football that we have to manage, just as the first half against Chelsea was very good. I think we are showing signs of improvement in this regard, and we must build on that in the future."
Pressed on whether Ferguson got enough time in his early days and whether managers enjoy such patience now, Carrick added: "Football has definitely changed, without the slightest doubt, and has evolved a great deal, and we must deal with the reality in front of us. I understand the comparisons and I understand why they are raised, but we have to live in the present. Every one of us is gripped by passion and a strong eagerness to achieve wins in matches, and as quickly as possible."
Carrick then turned to the fitness of midfielder Carlos Baleba and full-back Patrick Dorgu, laying out the medical report: "As for Carlos, we do not know exactly the length of his absence so far, but the matter will take several weeks, and he will not be ready at any time during the upcoming international break, but rather will need longer than that. As for Patrick, he took part in a very light portion of the training this week, and we have to be patient with him, as he has been through a long period of muscular injuries in the thigh, which requires careful management and patience from us during the coming two weeks. He is returning to us gradually, and we will see whether he is able to be with us at the end of this week or not."