Michael Carrick carrying on as ‘absolute normal’ with no assurances over future

Michael Carrick says he has not been given any further assurances about his Manchester United future heading into Sunday’s critical Premier League match against Aston Villa and the international window that follows.

In the wake of a hugely damaging 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth two weeks ago – a match many then expected to be Carrick’s last in charge – it was eventually communicated by United that their former captain would be given time to turn things around.

But no scale was put on that and Carrick remains under pressure despite Tuesday night’s dramatic Champions League win over Roma, which saw United rally from a 2-0 half-time deficit to win 3-2 thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ twice-taken penalty and Matheus Cunha’s late brace.

That result no doubt helped Carrick but did not paper over the cracks showing after the nine-match winless run that preceded it, with United having started this weekend hovering just above the relegation zone and entering it when Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City.

Asked if he had been told for certain he would still be in charge beyond the weekend, Carrick said: “No, I’ve just carried on as absolute normal.”

And when asked if he was entering Sunday’s match with any feeling of uncertainty, Carrick added: “No, no. Whatever happens is going to happen in terms of the game and we’ve got to prepare right, looking forward to it.”

Carrick sees the two-week international window that follows as an opportunity to reset for many of his players, but insisted he did not need a break himself despite the intense scrutiny of the past few weeks.

“I think international breaks are always a time when, talking about the players that aren’t going away and for the staff, I think there is a little bit (of time) to re-energise and freshen up,” he said.

“I think some of the players that go away in internationals, they get freshened up in a different environment, so there is an element of that, but I don’t really need it. I’m fine as I am.”

The pressure has arguably told at Old Trafford in recent weeks, with Carrick now hoping that Tuesday’s victory can show his players a way out of the situation they have put themselves in.

“Momentum in sport is massive,” he said. “Momentum within games, momentum day-to-day, week-to-week, game-to-game, it’s huge. Sometimes it’s difficult to quantify where that is, but with your feelings and your emotions to roll with it, I think it’s important.

“Then your memory can click in and you realise, ‘Oh yeah, this is what it feels like, this is how it should be,’ and you start seeing different things. That’s just kind of form, in some ways, of why players or teams have good spells and then struggle in other spells.

“It’s all got to come together but feeling confidence and that emotion, and sometimes not even thinking. You’re at your best when you don’t think too much and you just trust and play on instinct, and I think we did a lot of that the other night.”