Michael Carrick picked out “the enthusiasm and the attitude”
of Manchester United's players as his biggest point of excitement as he arrives at Carrington each morning.
With a lack of European football, the Reds have spent more time than usual at our training base this season, and while Champions League football is certainly the aim for next term, there's still been plenty for Carrick to be happy about.
“The enthusiasm and the attitude of the players, willing to learn and working together, I think that really excites me,”
the boss told journalists.
“There's a lot there for us all to work with and develop, so it's a really good place to do that.”
“The boys are so keen and hungry to learn and improve,”
he added. “You feel that every single day, which is again really encouraging.
”They’re a really fantastic group to work with.”
It was suggested later in that press conference that the increased frequency of training, owing to the larger gaps between matches, could see it become dull, but that's not a view shared by Carrick.
“Listen, coming into work here every day is a joy anyway, so we can't complain about that,” he said.
“We've got to make the most of it, he added. ”
And training, it's certainly not boring.
“Coming in here every day, there's a joy about it anyway, but of course we'd like to be playing more games and challenging and fighting at the thick end of it to try and win a trophy at this stage.”
The boss noted that, along with the staff around him, he's enjoyed the challenge of keeping training engaging, and ensuring the Reds make the most of their more relaxed calendar.
“It's working in the training weeks,” he said. “And it’s partly the coaching and the staff, and then mixing things up a little bit and getting what we need and getting that rhythm as well.
“That's part of the challenge anyway, whether you're a coach or a player.
”It's like anything, you can look at it from all sorts of angles. We've just got to use it for what we can and use it to prepare well and be ready.
“We're not playing as many games as some. That’s just how it is, accept it and make the best of it.”