Carrick: You've got to play with feeling

Carras was asked about a recent Lisandro Martinez claim that the new boss had touched his heart, and whether making that connection has been something worked on this month.

He also provided updates on Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, and discussed how he's preparing for Fulham.

Keep scrolling to read, and watch, everything he had to say in part one of his pre-match media briefing.

Starting off with some team news. Could you explain maybe how long Patrick [Chinazaekpere] Dorgu could be out? And are there any other players coming back like Joshua Zirkzee or Matthijs de Ligt?

“Yeah, Josh is back training this week, which is good news. Obviously, first time, so he's been out for a short amount of time, but first kind of training with us since we've been here, so that's great to have Josh back. Pat, unfortunately, he's going to be out for a period of time. We're still working through how long that's going to be. So, we'll have to see, you know, disappointing, he's had such a big couple of weeks, Pat. So, we weren't sure whether it was a little bit of cramp or whether it was something a little bit more serious and at the moment it looks a little bit more on the serious note. So, it'll be a few weeks for that. How many weeks? We'll have to wait and see. So, that's disappointing for all of us really, and for Pat, you know, he's in such a good place, but unfortunately it is part of football and it's something we got to work through and get him back as soon as we can.”

And just on De Ligt, is he still out?

“Yeah, he's not trained with us yet, so just working through and the process really of getting him back as soon as we can.”

Michael, when you look across the last year or so from United, I know you've not been here that entire time, but you've watched a lot of the team. A consistent theme has been the struggle to win games consistently at Old Trafford. Do you know why that is?

“I think, ultimately, consistency is the key to success, you know, and I think it's, in my eyes, one of the most difficult things to achieve, to be good consistently. So yeah, it takes so much, you know. It takes a level of performance. It takes a level of mentality and the intensity and the concentration and actually being able to cope emotionally with the ups and downs of what each game brings and moving on to the next. So, there's so many things and I kind of go into it. And listen, that's what we're working towards, you know, we've had a great couple of weeks, two big results. There's big games, bigger games coming up, and it's just keeping the mind in the right place as much as the emotions to be able to go into the next game, just as we have done the previous two.”

I interviewed Lisandro Martinez yesterday, and it goes in line what you were just saying there as well, he said that you touched his heart and that meant that he'd give you everything. I wonder how much work you've been doing in this short time capturing hearts and minds as well as giving tactical detail as well?

“Yeah, well, you've got to play with feeling. You know, you’ve got to play with emotion, you’ve got to play with excitement, so there's definitely that side of things and it's something we speak about. You know, the tactical side, the technical side's one thing, but the things I've just touched on is totally something else, and the boys have been there, you know, in training and in games and in meetings and everything around the place, they've been there in everything we've asked of them. And Licha’s epitomised that in terms of how he's gone about every day and certainly in the games. But we're definitely aware of what it's taken to have the couple of weeks we've had. A couple of weeks is a couple of weeks, you know, it's good, but it's two weeks and we're definitely aware that. It's something we want to, and we need to, extend for longer. So, respecting the game, respecting what it takes to win games and how hard it is and how good a team Fulham are. That's definitely on the front of our minds.”

Returning to Patrick for a moment. It's been reported that it could be 10 weeks. Are you confident you’ve got – he’s such a versatile player – the depth to cope with that?

“Yeah, listen, obviously it's not ideal. It's not ideal. Of course it's not. We don't want to lose good players from the group, but that's part of having a squad and assembling a squad to be able to cover certain things and we've got players that can do that. Yeah, it's the nature of the beast, unfortunately.”

Naturally, some will wonder whether you're going to move in the transfer market before the deadline. Do you see any movement incoming before Monday?

“To be honest, I think we're just working through it. Never say never, of course, because a lot can happen and situations can be thrown up. Sometimes it's in our control, sometimes it's maybe something that's out of our control that we’ve got to deal with. So, you know, we’re calm, I'm pretty calm. We've shown what we're capable of doing as a team, and we'll just have to have to see what the next few days bring, but I'm definitely calm about it.”

The general consensus has been that if anybody did come in, then somebody would go out and you mentioned Josh before, but he's the one who persistently gets linked with moves to Italy. Have you spoken to him about his future or has he articulated what his desire for this window is?

“No, I think Josh has just been trying to work to get fit and get back around the group and it's been great to have him back, training and training yesterday with the group for the first time. That's literally as far as it goes for me and for Josh, you know. I'm looking forward to working with him, so that's it. Nothing else is needed to be said.”

Bruno [Fernandes] signed for the club six years ago today. Obviously, everyone knows what a massive impact he's had. I'm just wondering if you could explain a bit about what you’ve found working with him? But also, every summer now, his future gets thrown in doubt. Obviously, he made comments again recently about the club wanting him to leave. Do you feel like he needs to see evidence of progress over the next few months to commit to staying on again? Because obviously for a player of his ability, he's not won enough, has he, at this club?

“I think, first of all, I've seen the impact he had as soon as he got here, you know, I was obviously here, so I'd seen it at close quarters, and he had a huge impact straight away in so many ways, you know, you could see the passion, you could see how much he wanted to do well. Straight away, you'd seen the quality and that's carried on all the way through and his consistency, really, of performances, his level of performances. His willingness to always put himself out there and physically be able to do it. And I think there's a lot to credit him for in that respect. Listen, of course, we all want to win things. We all want to get better, we want to improve as a team. We want to be successful and that's something we've got to work towards together. But Bruno's been fantastic since I've been here. He was fantastic when I was here before, so I've got nothing but good things to say about him.”

Just on the subject of Bruno’s future again. Have you talked to him about it and would you expect him to be here next year, or do you feel he needs Champions League football?

“I think let’s not get too far ahead, you know. We're working towards this game and talking about the window now [which is] closing in a few days, that's on the agenda a little bit, but my main agenda is getting through the game on Sunday with Fulham and Bruno's fully committed. There's absolutely no issues at all. Things further down the line, obviously, will be addressed towards the end of the season or whatever. But everything's positive at the moment. There's no reason to be anything otherwise.”

Just on the Fulham game. An issue that's kind of predated some of the previous managers is United sometimes struggling to break down teams that come to Old Trafford and are happy to sit a little bit deeper. Obviously, that's not the way the City and Arsenal play. Does the messaging or the game plan change at all when you've got a team like Fulham coming in? And you also mentioned after the City game, you're not always going to have the big emotions, like a derby brings up, and sometimes the players can have to do them that themselves. Is Fulham an example of that?

“Yeah, I don't think we need to make too much of it, to be honest. I think we are where we are. I think the feeling around the group, around the squad and the results that we've had, the performances. In going into the next game, I don't think the past is too relevant in that respect. You understand it and what's worked before and what hasn't. But really, I think the boys are in a good place going into the game. Tough game, really tough challenge, I think, Fulham. Marco [Silva]'s got them into a really good team. So, I think this one of, ‘All of a sudden, it's a different game, it’s Fulham’. Just because we’re home, taking anything for granted is bang out of order, really. So it might be a case that it’s the same flow of the game as what we've had the last two weeks. No shame in that. We'll deal with the game that’s in front of us and do whatever it takes for us to be able to come out on top.”

I just wanted to ask about Mason Mount, who's becoming a crucial player, well he was a crucial player under Ruben Amorim, but he's played just a few minutes under you, and obviously didn’t get on on Sunday. How has he reacted to that? And also, how do you see his role?

“Yeah, I'm a big fan of Mason. I think there’s so many good things to like about him, you know, his quality to start with, his attitude, his personality. That's why we've got the squad, you know, certain times, certain games, certain players will play and as we work through the season, that'll come to fruition. But yeah, again, I like Mason a lot and I think he's an important player for this team and this club.”