Michael Carrick has admitted Manchester United have fallen short of the required level in recent weeks, stressing he is not satisfied with the performances or the results.
Speaking at the press conference ahead of Sunday's clash with Bournemouth in the eighth round of the Premier League, Carrick said: "I'll begin today with a few things I want to talk about. We haven't been through a good period recently, and I think that is perfectly clear, so I fully accept what we are going through at the moment."
"We experienced five months of relative success, a period during which I was happy with many of the things I was seeing, as well as with what we were producing as a team," he added. "But we have not delivered the required level in the recent period, and we have been through a spell in which we feel a great deal of dissatisfaction."
Wednesday night still stings. "Wednesday night was a bad one, for many reasons, and it hurt us a great deal," he continued. "I was certainly affected when I saw the team play in that way, and when I watched how the match unfolded. And as I said after the game, what happened was completely unacceptable."
The manager then turned to the supporters. "The supporters are an essential part of this club, and they give their time and effort and spend their money in order to support the team, and so it was hard for them to feel on Wednesday what we all felt," he went on.
Asked about his responsibility towards the team, Carrick said: "My responsibility is to prepare a team that goes out onto the pitch and represents this club and its supporters, and makes them feel proud, through the identity we show. We have moved away from that recently in some matches, and I am fully aware of this problem and I am certainly working on addressing it."
"I think it is important that we all recognise that, and I certainly recognise it," he added. "Our supporters are of the utmost importance to me and to this club."
Restoring that bond is now the priority. "We need to restore the feelings our supporters experienced during the first five months of the year, to restore that bond between us, and the vitality, intensity in performance, enjoyment and passion that we were showing," he continued. "We need to return to this level, and I fully believe that we will succeed in doing so."
Pressed on whether he had considered stripping Bruno Fernandes of the captaincy following the Portuguese player's recent comments, Carrick declined to answer. He limited himself to stressing that he would always be keen to take the decisions that serve the interest of the club.
He also refused to reveal whether he had spoken to Fernandes about the matter, or what had passed between them in any private conversation.
On the foundations the club is built upon and its historic values, Carrick said: "The foundations of this club and its values have been established over many long years. I understand each one of these values and fully recognise their importance. It is about humility, hard work and feeling genuine pride when committing to those values."
"This club possesses a great capacity for resilience, and it has proven that over a very long period," he went on. "Whether through rising again after adversity, or achieving comebacks in matches, or scoring goals in the final moments, or sustaining success, the capacity for resilience is very deeply rooted in this club."
Manchester United, he insists, dwarfs any individual, himself and his players included. "I am aware that there are certain figures who have contributed to making the history of this club, and I know some of them closely," Carrick said. "Manchester United has always been bigger than any individual, and it will remain so forever."
"The club is bigger than me and than any player, and it has always been that way," he continued. "I am fortunate that I know some of the players, and I played alongside a number of them. Ryan Giggs is one of the greatest players to have worn the shirt of this club, and perhaps one of the very best of all, but it was never about Giggs, it was about Manchester United."
"Wayne Rooney is the all-time top scorer for this club, and the most important thing that distinguished him was playing for the team, sacrificing for it, and doing everything that is in the interest of Manchester United," he explained.
"Sir Alex Ferguson is the best manager in history, and the greatest from my point of view," he noted. "And when I worked under his leadership, the main priority for him was Manchester United."
"If we go back to Sir Matt Busby and Sir Bobby Charlton, we find that the resilience they showed, and the way in which they rebuilt this club, were two things beyond imagination," he added.
"All of that was again based on humility, keeping things simple and hard work," he concluded. "We can never lose these values, and I will not allow us to abandon them. That gives me a great drive to work towards returning the club to this level."