Carrick: We have a team to be proud of

The Reds ran out 3-2 winners against our north-west rivals, thanks to Kobbie Mainoo's brilliant winning goal late in the second half, after an early quickfire double from Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko had been cancelled out by the visitors' own quick start after the break, through goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo.

Carrick's side came under some pressure after the visitors had drawn level in the second half, but the boss underlined the camaraderie shown by his players to fight back and take all three points, which also secured our qualification for next season's UEFA Champions League.

In his post-match press conference, Carrick was also asked about the importance of European qualification being secured and planning for next season, plus a range of other topics.

Watch our head coach's press conference in full or read all of his quotes below.

Michael, Kobbie Mainoo said afterwards that he loves playing for you, the players want to fight for you, they want to die for you - it’s a bit extreme! But it shows what they think of you and however you want to dress it up, you’ve delivered sides that have beaten Man City and Arsenal and Chelsea and now Liverpool. What do you think about doing this job for Manchester United, because I think everyone now thinks this should be your job?

"Yeah, maybe. I think that’s one of the biggest things for me, is trying to get the best out of people, and helping players and giving them the opportunity to go and perform and do what they’re good at really. There’s that side and then there’s obviously being part of it today and seeing this place alive and bouncing at the end is a real joy and a pleasure to be in the position. I think as a group of players, they need a lot of credit for the run they’re putting together and the coaching staff as well, especially for the lot of work that goes on. I’m sitting here answering questions but there’s a lot of good work that goes on beyond me. And the pleasing thing is the spirit and the togetherness of the group, I think to see that camaraderie and looking after each other, it was tested at 2-2 and seeing them sticking in and fighting for each other, that’s what we want, a team to be proud of, and the boys have certainly given us that."

What is it about this team or this performance that impresses you that maybe people don’t always see and appreciate it?

"There was a lot today to be happy with and to be proud of. We thought players available-wise that they would try to overload the midfield and it would be a challenge for us to close the spaces in the middle of the pitch. We have some really dangerous, dangerous forwards but we’re asking them to do a lot of work without the ball as well and that’s part of being a good team. So the way we closed that space and made it difficult for them - they’ve got some fantastic players and they made it difficult for us - but I thought the way we stuck at that especially really pleased me a lot. I have to say, the way supporters got behind us after the two goals, it’s easy after that point to get frustrated or to go the other way a little bit, and I thought again spirit and togetherness shows when it’s a little bit of a challenging time. So to feel that we’ve built that and we’re in a position where we’ll all stick together has really pleased me a lot. It was just two mistakes; Amad and Senne [Lammens] have both been immense for us and offered so much within the group and the team to put us in this position. That building on to the end of the game and the way we stuck at it, bounced back, finished well, players coming off the bench and making a difference, I thought it’s probably that spirit and togetherness for everybody that satisfies me the most really."

Hi, Michael. You mentioned a lot there about what you’ve built and that spirit and togetherness and getting fans on side in the last four months. 10 wins in 14 games, do you feel like you’ve earned the right to build on that and take that into next season, because it’s been almost perfect what you’ve got over the last four months?

"It’s been a good run, I think we’ve beat some very, very good teams and it’s been challenging, sometimes we’ve won it in some ways, sometimes we’ve won it in other ways. I love doing what I’m doing, it’s a great position for me to be in. It feels natural if I’m being totally honest, I’m not being blase because it’s a difficult role, but it feels that I’ve been here a long time in different times, on and off, but I can understand what it brings. To be sat in this position is a good position to be."

Would you be disappointed now if you don’t get this job beyond?

"We’ll have to wait and see. All we can do… I think when we came in, Champions League to be honest was a little bit in distance. We wanted to try to get back into Europe, so to be where we are and the run the players have put together with three games to spare get is a good achievement. It’s just been a step, though, we’re not over celebrating it. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen, I can only do my best work for the club and the players especially and try and help them as best as we can and see what happens after that."

I know you said a couple of times you don’t want to over-celebrate qualifying for the Champions League, but just in practical terms, when you’re looking at making that next step, does it make that easier in maybe having more money to spend in the summer, maybe you can attract better players, is that how you’re looking at it?

"It’s a huge step, don’t get me wrong, for so many reasons, I’m not underplaying it, it is a big step. The signs of improvement and being in a position now where we ware with three games to go, there’s a lot of satisfaction that comes with that, but that can’t be everything, that’s the point I’m making. There’s a lot of credit to the staff and the players for doing that, but we want more of that, we want and expect more of that consistently and that’s the message of let’s try and push on and keep improving, it’s not just to sit back and think: ‘that was alright, that was good, we’ve achieved something'."

You spoke about togetherness, the players clearly are quite a tight-knit group. How have you managed to develop that, or is it something that was there before and needed a bit of extra attention?

"I can only say from what I’ve faced and seen with my own eyes really, and ever since we came back through the doors, I think the boys have responded really well to it. I think it comes from trust as well and how you treat each other and the trust between us and the belief, certainly I’ve got in them and the staff have got in them, and we spoke about that before the game, about how much belief we’ve got in them, so trying to give them that confidence to go and play. They’re really food players and it can be a really good team when we put things in place, and that’s proved to be the case over recent months."

I know it’s a delicate matter but I’m sure you’ve heard about Sir Alex. Is there any comment you have on behalf of the club?

"I haven’t got any updates, so I don’t know the latest as we stand now, I did hear about it before the game so I was aware before the game. All I can say is I wish him… I was very affected by it, the news, and we just hope he’s alright. I just don’t know the latest, but we hope for him to be in good shape and we wish him all the best. I certainly think, I mean hopefully, the result, when he hears about it gives him a good boost."

If you’re still around next season or not, I suppose one issue is the squad because Newcastle this season have struggled to cope with Champions League football and Premier League football and your squad is small. Is that something that you will press on the club regardless of what happens, that the squad needs bulking up because you need quality but also quantity?

"That’s obviously the next challenge, with being in a position where there’s more games. It’s been a bit frustrating at certain points because we’ve had big gaps between games, so there’s a positive and a negative to that, but certainly the balance of the squad, what it looks like, strength, depth, that’s part of the conversations of anywhere. When I came in I was never going to make decisions just to get to the end of the season, it was always for the benefit of the whole football club moving forward. We’re definitely well aware of what that should and could look like and where we want to try and get to."

Just on Bruno and his performance today, I know you said all you’ve can say about him over the past few weeks, he came close to getting that assist record. I’m just curious about the reasoning behind the sub at the end because it’s pretty rare to see him come off the pitch.

"To be honest, it was just there was a minute or so to go and we thought we’d get Leny on the pitch. Josh had came on, Pat had came on, Amad had came on as well and there was nothing behind that apart from it."