Michael Carrick has dismissed speculation about his Manchester United future as "ridiculous," insisting he would be given far more than a couple of games to prove to the club's ownership that he's the right man to turn things around, even as he continues to accept responsibility for a difficult start to the season.
United have lost three of their six matches in all competitions this season, and a stunning collapse against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup in midweek has ramped up the pressure on the 45-year-old. Carrick's side led 2-0 at Old Trafford but let the lead slip and lost from that position for the first time in 50 years. United were booed off, with Carrick and his players hit by derogatory chants from the Stretford End.
A strong result away at Fulham this weekend feels important, but Carrick pushed back on the idea that he needed instant results to convince Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers he's still the right man for the job.
"I think that'll be a lot longer than one or two games of results," he said, via the Manchester Evening News. "I understand, first of all, taking away all that, that's irrelevant for me. I know the club, I know the role, I know what's expected here in terms of playing to a certain standard, playing at a certain level, achieving certain things on the pitch, so I get all that."
He added: "In terms of future and ownership and how long I've got in the job, I'm thinking one part of it, like how long have I got, it's ridiculous to think that way in a position that I'm in, that's just not on the radar. I understand what we need to achieve and where we need to be as a football club for the owners, what they expect, for the supporters as much as anything, I get all that."
"It's two or three games that we haven't had certain results, and two or three games too many, because I really hate losing, but that doesn't mean that the world caves in. In some minds, it does, it can't for us, because we've got to perform."
Carrick takes the blame
Rather than deflect criticism, Carrick has made clear he's willing to remain the focal point for any flak directed at the club during this rough patch.
"That's why I'm here," he said. "It's my responsibility. I'm fine with that. It's not a blame game. It's not a blame game. We all search for things to look at and point at and find a blame. Sometimes it gets almost like too much of a thing to want to find someone to blame or something to blame. Blame me, no problem. I'll take the responsibility, whatever it is."
"But it's not about blaming people, it's about finding solutions and being better, and that's as a whole football club, as a group of players, as staff, as owners, supporters, it's a whole collective thing, and you can put it in different directions, you can worry about different things, it's about what you focus on. I'm totally happy taking responsibility, absolutely no problem with that, it doesn't bother me. I just know where we want to get to and we want to get there fast."
Carrick, who made 464 appearances as a United player and has remained a devoted supporter of the club, insists he still believes it's a "great football club" and that he's well placed to help it recover.
"One hundred percent it does, yeah," he said. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, genuinely. It's the best place for me to be, so in part of the times when it's maybe not going to plan, that's sometimes the best times to work your way through, find out a few things and come out an awful lot stronger."
