Senne Lammens has disclosed that Michael Carrick is determined to keep Manchester United focused despite their underwhelming goalless draw against Sunderland on Saturday. The Red Devils, who have shown significant improvement under Carrick since his arrival in January, produced a lackluster performance at the Stadium of Light.
Carrick's Rallying Call
Speaking to Premier League Productions, Lammens revealed the manager's message: 'It's very important to show up and deliver in every game. We are going to try and win every game possible. We want to give back to our fans, who have been very supportive this season. The manager has got the point across to us that this season is not finished.'
United have already secured Champions League qualification for next season and are poised to finish third in the Premier League, but Lammens stressed the importance of maintaining momentum. 'We have got Champions League, but we also want to finish third. We don't want to finish below third, we want to keep those other teams away from us. I hope – and I think – our team thinks the same way as me,' he added.
Carrick's Assessment
Carrick himself was not overly critical of his side, acknowledging that injuries to key players like Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko disrupted their rhythm. 'We take the point. A clean sheet is always good to get. We've scored a lot of goals this season and we've created a lot of chances. It's just one of those games, you know, it's a tough game. It was a decent enough point and we nearly won it in the end,' he said.
He also praised the team's spirit: 'There were some changes today and I thought, as a collective, the spirit and the attitude of the boys was really good. It's easy to fizzle out after you've had a spell and you come towards the end of the season and you're really focused on finishing the season strong. Was it going to be the perfect game? We probably went into it not expecting the perfect game and understanding the situation and the changes.'
Carrick urged his players to stay positive and continue improving: 'It is what it is. It's not something that we need to overthink and certainly not to be negative about because there's not a lot to be negative about. We understand that we can be a little bit better than we were at certain times today. We need to keep improving, keep working. Take the positives, play with the confidence.'
Merson's Criticism
Former Arsenal and England forward Paul Merson disagreed with Carrick's lenient assessment, calling the performance 'limp' and expressing concerns about United's squad depth. 'He didn't sound right. When you're the manager of Manchester United you have to come out and say, 'we expect to come here to win.' It's like it was a good result today. It wasn't a good result or performance. It's worrying for next season. They will be in the Champions League and their squad looks shallow. [Mason] Mount playing in central midfield with [Kobbie] Mainoo, [Joshua] Zirkzee up front. They need to invest in players if they want to be in top four again next season,' Merson told Sky Sports.
United's display saw them manage just one shot on target, while Sunderland created the more dangerous opportunities. The result leaves United still third, but with work to do in their final two matches to secure that position.
