Carrick: Everton's a new challenge

We travel to Merseyside on Monday evening in a 20:00 GMT kick-off that will be our first appearance in the Hill Dickinson Stadium since the Toffees' new ground opened at the start of this season.

Carrick didn't underestimate the challenge David Moyes's side pose in his pre-match press conference, stating it was one of the hardest fixtures he took part in as a player. The boss also answered questions on learning from our last match against West Ham, coping with the extended break between fixtures and plans for upcoming gaps without games.

Keep scrolling to read, or watch, everything he had to say...

Hi, Michael. Could you give us your assessment of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's comments?

“Yeah, I think, look, Sir Jim's made a statement and then the club's made a statement on the back of it, really. So, for me to add to that… It's not my place to add to that. I think enough’s been said in that regard. I think what I can say is, I've been around this club many, many years, and I think we always make a huge impact globally in whatever way, and we're really responsible for that. And, you know, throughout the years as a player, as a member of staff, as a supporter, I think we're really proud of the environment and the culture that we've got at the club, and equality and diversity and respect for each other is something that we look to carry through every day. And I've travelled the world and I know what this club means to an awful lot of people, so fully aware of the responsibility and we're trying to carry that out every single day.”

Is there a possibility that those comments undermine that?

“We’ve got a really strong group, whether that's the players in and around the dressing room and the staff and certainly around the club, and outside of the club, but certainly within the club, I think we're in constant communication anyway. We’re here to support each other and help each other in whatever way we can. So, the boys have been in really good spirits this week in terms of training. We've had some time away, so I think that was important for a refresh and bit of a deep breath of everything, you know, for the short time we've kind of been together to digest everything and then come back and focusing on what's next. So, we're looking forward to the next game at this stage. But yeah, obviously we're here to help each other, support each other, in any way we possibly can.”

Do you think comments like that can impact the group?

“Yeah, I think part of being at this club, we understand what it's like and globally and, as I said, the responsibilities that we have, and within this. And I can only speak for my personal experiences of being here for a long time and with various managers, with various staff, supporters largely probably stayed the same, gathered some new supporters over the years. But all backgrounds, different backgrounds, and it's something we're fully aware of. And I am, and I'm proud of what the club stands for and has done for so long, really. I'm really aware of that.”

Just on the team news, looking ahead to Monday. I think you mentioned Mason Mount could be close back to fitness for Everton? And [Matthijs] de Ligt, do you have any updates on those two?

“Yeah, Mason's getting closer. I think we're going to be patient as well, and we have been patient with him, so we don't want to push anything. He's an important part of the group, Mason, and we want him back and fit and he'll have a big impact for us. So, he's getting closer, which is good for us. Matta, a little bit working towards it, but as I said last week, he's a little bit behind Mason, really, so we're just trying to work with him, to progress him, to get him a bit closer.”

How do you go about beating Everton?

“Listen, there's a lot goes into a game. David [Moyes]'s teams are hard to play against, you know, and he's such a good manager and with the experience he's got and knowing what it takes to have success in this league. It's a new challenge for us, you know? So, it’s one we're looking forward to. I think it's one where we've had a lot of time to look forward to it. So yeah, it's going to take a lot. I think going away to Everton, I know it's a new stadium, but historically it's always been tough, it’s always been the atmosphere and the supporters that they create, I think it's always been one of the toughest ones that I've played away from home. So, we were aware of that. And then trying to be our best way we can, you know. I think we've got things to improve on, but we've got a good base and a good foundation moving forward, good spirit. So, we'll have to draw on pretty much all of that on Monday night."

You said you've had a couple of weeks here to just take a breath and assess the start that you'd made together. Did you feel like the West Ham performance was a little bit of a step back from what you've shown, and what are the details that you think need to change for this Everton game? It may well have a similar approach to West Ham as well.

“I think you've got to be a bit balanced, you know, in terms of, I’ve spoken about not getting carried away before that game, in terms of winning games and certainly not getting carried away if we don't come away with the three points. I think there's an understanding that games are tough to win in this league and it's proving, not just for us. So, I think a lot of the performance in terms of the control and how we went about the game, there was a lot of good things in the game. It probably got open towards the end when we were chasing it a little bit more, but we looked dangerous, and scoring late goals is a big positive. So, I think it's an important point for us. Yeah, of course, we wanted to win the game, but [we’re] certainly not thinking that it was it was all bad or it's a big negative. I think we're pretty balanced going into the game to what we are coming out of it really and looking for the games ahead.”

It will have been 13 days [since the West Ham game] by the time you play Everton. How has it been having an extended break like that? Has it been helpful or did you feel it's broken the rhythm? 

“Yeah, we try to make it useful, you know, the break that we've had at the moment. I think we're trying to make [it] in different ways. I think it was important… I think when there's change, and the kind of month or so that we had together, I think it was important for everyone to, you know, have a couple of days to digest that and take it in. And so the boys have trained a bit, had a few days off, trained a bit again, and not only of getting the balance right, but keeping the rhythm, keeping the sharpness, keeping the focus, which the boys have been, I have to say, really good in training again. And then, yeah, moving forward, the fixtures have thrown up some mixture of gaps between games really. So [it’s] just adjusting and adapting and we'll see what kind of comes with that, especially obviously the international [break] and then a bit of a break after that. So, we'll manage it as we go, but we'll obviously try and make the best of it.”

How do you feel about the prospects of a [mid-season] friendly? Is it something you would welcome if that's what the club thinks is the right thing to do?

“It just depends on a lot of things, really. I don't think there's a black or white answer with that one. I think it's really, kind of, we'll make a call and there's a bit of an area in between where it depends on where the game is, what it's like, what time it is, when the fixtures fall, you know. So, it's not straightforward, but it's something, if we need to look at, we can do if we think it's the best for the players.”