Carrick explains the benefits of Dublin training camp

The Reds headed to the Republic of Ireland at the start of this week for a four-day stay to train and bond as a group ahead of our final seven games of the Premier League season.

We're still in the middle of our 24-day gap between games, starting with our trip to Bournemouth last month and ending with the visit of Leeds United on Monday, which came about due to the March international break being following by the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final weekend.

Carrick and the coaching staff felt that a fresh environment for a few days would be beneficial, ahead of the upcoming run-in, as we aim to finish as high as possible in the table and secure UEFA Champions League football for next season.

In the latest episode of Inside Carrington, our head coach went into a little more detail about that decision.

"There are different reasons," the boss told club media in Dublin. "I think we've ended up doing quite a bit of training, because of the games, obviously the way they've been.

"And it's [Carrington] a fantastic place to be, don't get me wrong, but I think there's a little bit of freshness, little bit of focus again, of getting everyone back together and spending some time here.

"Having a bit of lunch and a bit of dinner, and a few activities where we can kind of have that connection and spirit again, players and staff.

"And then come to work, to train, to prepare, to try to improve and be ready for the games coming up."

The squad are based at Carton House, just outside the Republic of Ireland's capital, and have received the warmest of welcomes from Irish Reds there throughout the stay, something which was noted as a big positive by Carrick.

"The support we have all around the world is incredible, wherever we go," he said. "But coming to Ireland, it's pretty special to be honest.

"Seeing the reception we got when we got to the hotel and just coming off the training pitch there, it just shows you what this club means to so many people, and especially round these parts.

"So yeah, it was nice to see them."