After Manchester United moved third in the Premier League table with another big three points at Old Trafford against Crystal Palace, Michael Carrick spoke about Benjamin Sesko’s red-hot form and the positive atmosphere at the club.
How pleased were you with the spirit and character on show in that game, because it felt at half-time like you were really up against it?
“It’s the biggest thing for us to take from the game really. I think it’s the first time that we’ve been in that situation going in at half-time but I thought we were a little bit off to start with, and they started particularly well, so credit to them for that. After 20 minutes or so, I thought the game started turning in our favour and we finished the half stronger. We spoke at half-time about being in that position and how we react, showing that personality and belief. Football is tough at times and this league is tough, so you’re never going to have it all your own way but the way we came back in the second half and turned the game in our favour was the biggest thing for me.”
Was there anything in particular you wanted to address with the players at half-time?
“It was just a couple of little tweaks in shape, maybe a couple of ideas, some things that we tried from the start that we wanted to tweak a bit. Honestly, it wasn’t anything major really, I won’t take much credit for that. I think the boys showed as the first half progressed, that it was on its way to being better. You have got to find a way in games sometimes, we wanted to make more runs and be a little bit more aggressive with attacking their backline, which you always try to do but I thought we did it better second half, ended up getting the penalty from that. It was more, how do we react? It’s been going in our favour, it was something I’ve been waiting for, this moment, to see ‘go on then, what are we going to do about it?’ The boys responded ever so well. It was a big thing for us.”
When you’re walking around the stadium and the fans are singing your name, what does that feel like?
“It’s nice, obviously this place means a lot to me. To have so much positivity and everyone enjoying coming to the games and watching it, for me to have an influence on that, I’m not going to lie, of course it feels good. The players have got to take a lot of credit for that for what they put on the pitch. It’s certainly not all me. That connection with the supporters is huge, to feel that and for them to stay with us, even when there was a bit of a stuttery start, to get through the game and finish like that, it means a lot.
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How pleased are you for Benjamin Sesko after he made an impact from the off, and how much confidence do you think that will give him?
“Absolutely delighted for Ben. It’s certainly not been a headache, it’s not been a big drama. He’s had a huge impact and he’s making big improvements. A little bit is getting used to what it is like to be here and the feelings and what it means to play. Things that we can take for granted at times. He’s desperate to do well, he works so hard, he’s an absolute pleasure to work with. Today, he started and it was it was an absolutely fantastic goal, he’s bringing an awful lot. We’ve got good flexibility across the top line. The front players can play different roles within the game, so there's a lot of flexibility there. Amad took some time out today but that may change again for Wednesday, but it’s good to have those options.”
Sesko’s record in the first half of the season is completely different to his record in the last few weeks, how much of his revival is down to giving him a bit of self-belief and how much is you playing to his strengths and creating chances where his attributes can be useful?
“Building that relationship and that trust is important when you’re trying to help players and the team. That’s on Ben, he’s put the work in, he’s stayed positive, he knows how he wants to improve, he’s pretty clear on that, but he’s a good player, that’s why he’s here. He’s got some great strengths. He’s such a real threat. I’m really excited about where he can get to, without getting too carried away. He’s got huge potential, he's so young, it’s still early days but he’s doing fantastic at the moment.”
What did you make of Matheus Cunha’s performance today?
“I think it’s about getting the balance about when to play inside and when to play outside, when to make runs in behind. Matheus thinks a lot about the game, he’s really good in terms of wanting to know certain things. He’s conscious of where the space is and knows when to attack certain spaces. Sometimes it's wide. I thought particularly second half at times, he looked dangerous going 1v1. And then he’s inside the pitch a bit more to create the moment for the penalty.“
This club is synonymous with great goals. Does it matter to you that some of the goals you are scoring are so good?
“It’s nice to score good goals. We all come to games to see goals at the end of the day, to see that excitement and see that level of entertainment from top players. We all know what the boys are capable of, it’s definitely not getting carried away. I don’t think we’ve got all the answers yet but we certainly know that the boys have got big moments in them in different ways. Whether that’s through balls, whether that's a little bit of combination play, whether that's 1v1, whether that’s headers. We do feel we have got a good balance to that. It’s really positive to see. There’s going to be games when it might not quite happen. It doesn’t mean it’s a disaster. The two away games it was a little bit harder to come by but that’s football. To put the run together that we’ve had, we’ve had to do it in different ways. That’s more encouragement for me, that we’ve had to do it in different ways. It’s something to look forward to and build on.”