Michael Carrick insists he is not feeling any added pressure because of Manchester United‘s dismal start to the Premier League season.
United were held to a 1-1 draw at home to 10-man Tottenham on Saturday, Dominic Solanke equalising late on for Spurs despite Rodrigo Bentancur’s red card, Bryan Mbeumo having seemingly put Carrick’s men on course for victory.
The Red Devils have taken just six points from their opening six Premier League games, marking their worst start to a league season since the 1986-87 campaign.
More troubling than the result against Tottenham was the nature of the performance at Old Trafford, where United were second best for long periods and were grateful for Spurs’ profligacy in the final third.
The display raised the scrutiny on Carrick in his first season as permanent manager after an excellent interim spell last term.
United boss: I love when it’s going against you
But Carrick, who confirmed United will be without both Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, is undaunted by the seemingly mounting external pressure.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Carrick said: “Depends how you define pressure. We know what we want and what we expect.
“That comes from us. I know what it looks like, I don’t feel the pressure from that, I want to win and succeed. There’s no negativity, we’re embracing the challenge.
“There’s going to be times when it’s a struggle and if you can’t do something difficult and get through it you’re not going to succeed.
“It’s fine lines. We didn’t start well the other day. The late goals we’ve conceded have all be avoidable but it’s fine margins.”
Asked if he is surprised by how quickly things have gone wrong, Carrick replied: “We expected a lot more. I knew there was going to be a period where it became stickier. That’s part of it.
‘It’s a journey, there will have been times when it’s not gone to plan for Atletico, they’ve had success but it hasn’t all been in one direction.
“I understand people thinking it’s a disaster but that’s not in our mindset. You’ve got to be able to deal with it.
“The last three goals we’ve conceded we could have done something about them. That can be the difference. I love this part when it’s going against you. The fans are there and we’ve got to give them something. We will come through it.
“They [the players] care. We’re here to test ourselves. If you don’t want to dig deep it’s not the place for you.
“I’ve seen it behind closed doors and in the changing rooms. It’s a big week, two tough games but we’re looking forward to them. We’ll come out fighting.”
United visit Leeds United on Sunday in another testing league fixture, with the injuries to left-back Shaw and midfielder Mainoo far from ideal for Carrick’s side as they face a difficult week.
“They’ve not travelled, both picked up issues in the game at the weekend so they’re out,” Carrick said of that pair.
On striker Benjamin Sesko, who has not featured since the EFL Cup defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion on September 16 because of a shin issue, Carrick explained: “We’re still waiting for a few extra tests. We need to be on top of it. We haven’t got a timeframe [for his return].
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