Carrick admitted that he was far from satisfied with the number of points collected so far.
He said there was no point avoiding the situation. Although a few minor incidents could have produced different results, the team must accept its current position and quickly begin moving in a more positive direction.
The fine margins Carrick referred to included the defending for Solanke’s goal, the freedom given to Everton’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles before his stoppage-time equaliser at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on 6 September, and Martinez’s avoidable own goal that almost handed Fulham victory at Craven Cottage shortly before the international break.
Carrick added that his players must show greater awareness, resilience and determination when attempting to protect a result.
Despite those setbacks, he remains confident in the squad’s quality and potential. However, he acknowledged that the team must now turn that belief into more points.
The concern is that every disappointing result further weakens the claim that United are already a strong side.
Once again, the discussion after the match focused on how much ground Carrick’s players covered, even though running alone has done little to improve their results.
Former Tottenham captain Jamie Redknapp argued that repeatedly covering less distance than the opposition reveals a significant weakness.
Tottenham covered five kilometres more than United, although they played part of the game with 10 men. Redknapp did not question United’s effort, but suggested they were losing the physical contest and failing to outperform their direct opponents.
Former Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy also identified a lack of energy in United’s performance, arguing that the midfield was unable to dictate matches because of both tactical decisions and the players available.
Murphy found the decline difficult to explain because United had looked considerably more organised and harder to break down near the end of the previous season.
He warned that the huge gaps in midfield would have been punished by stronger opponents. Similar performances against high-quality teams could leave United dangerously exposed.
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