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5 September 2026

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick spoke to the media in the embargoed section of his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Everton.

Below is the full embargoed section of the press conference.

The first reporter asked: “It seems pretty clear from looking at this window that there are clubs in the Premier League now that can outspend United, and you are almost competing in a different league to them financially. How difficult does that make it to achieve the ultimate aims? Because we have heard people around the club say you want to win the league, you want to compete for the Champions League. It feels as though doing that is going to need a triumph of coaching really to improve the existing players. Is that a fair assessment, and how do you reach those targets if you just cannot compete with three or four clubs in this league?”

Carrick replied: “Oh, we certainly feel we can compete, and I think the challenge is getting the right dynamics, getting the right balance, getting the right group together, getting the best players in the group to enhance the rest of the group. And whether you need experience, some younger players, the actual amount of money in the end, I understand it can be a big thing. It does not always have to be the answer, but it can be. And it is up to us to do the work and get the best out of the group.”

“We have got a fantastic group of players and they have proved over a period of time now that we can put results together and play well and win in all sorts of different places and environments. And in the end we have got to keep doing it. And as I said, we have strengthened the group from what we had last season and we finished the season really strongly. So we are really positive about where we can get to. Realistic from where we have been, but we know where we want to get to and we are really positive that we can.”

Another reporter asked: “Were you surprised by the lack of sales? The most senior sale was Toby Collyer.”

“Was I surprised?”

“Yes.”

“Erm, no, to be honest, no.”

The reporter continued: “Is that a reflection of the club’s history? Because it feels like they have struggled to sell players in recent years in particular.”

He answered: “Maybe, maybe not. I think it goes back to us keeping the group stronger. We had a really good foundation of eight months or so where we know as a group what we can do, who brings what to the group at certain times, and we wanted to be stronger. So that was the focus and whatever we needed to do to stay stronger, whether that was what players to let go, whether it was to keep certain players, ultimately we want to keep getting better, and we feel we have done. So with the group that we have got now, we are in good shape, it is up to us to push forward now.”

The subject came up again with the next reporter, who asked: “Obviously some of the fans will look at the numbers that other teams have invested, but Sunday is your 20th Premier League game since you were appointed. I do not think any other team has won more Premier League points in that time. That would suggest that it is one thing what happens at boardroom level with the money that is invested and another thing what happens on the pitch, and that you actually can compete without necessarily pumping £400 million into a squad in one transfer window?”

The manager responded: “We can certainly compete. For me, being at this club, you have got to strive to win. That is where we want to be — we say we expect to win. That is not being blasé, but that is where we want to be and we want to try and get to that on a consistent level.”

“I do not like keep looking back, but recent history, very recent history, is as much as anything for the boys to feel it and the group to feel it. They know what it has taken to put that run together that you have just mentioned. Granted, it was one competition and we need to do that an awful lot more this season, but we have strengthened the group, so we feel good about what is possible. We know the challenges we face, of course we do, and it is not an instant thing, but I think we are moving in the right direction, that is for sure.”

A reporter then asked whether the manager would “look at what your rivals have spent, look at the black and white of those figures, and maybe feel that you can only pull so many rabbits out of the hat, but at some stage you need the tools that you need to do the job to compete at that highest level?”

The Wallsend-born coach replied: “We have got to be moving forward and as a group we are moving forward, as a team we definitely are, and the habits, the mentality of the group are showing some really encouraging signs and getting the best out of what we can get the best out of and feel that we can be right in there.”

“There are obviously some teams that are a bit further down the line than us. We have been here eight months or so and some of the players have been here only a little longer than me. So there is a freshness around the group, there is an excitement around the group, which is really encouraging. And there is a — I will be honest — a hunger and a feeling of wanting to achieve something. So that is from us, which we have got to keep and we have got to grow. And I am glad the players feel that way, that they have got that confidence. Suffer setbacks, bounce back, know what we can do, what we can do when we are at our best. And we have got to stay at that level for as long as we can.”

The next question stayed on the same theme: “To people or fans who still think that you maybe lack that X amount to compete at the highest level consistently, what would you say to them?”

He responded: “A lot of people think a lot of things, to be honest. It is what it is. I think we know what we have, what we can do, what we can achieve. Money is one thing, what you do with it is another thing, how you make the most of it is another thing. It is about what happens on the pitch at the end of the day, and we just keep giving what we can, giving our best, and keep trying to win.”

The next question was: “How aware are you of what is happening outside of the pitch and do you feel that you can actually use it this time in your favour?”

Carrick replied: “Obviously, certainly aware of all sorts of things throughout different clubs, but ultimately for me and the players it comes down to preparing for what we do on the pitch, and certainly emotionally, whichever way it goes, you have got to be able to cope with it, make the most of situations.”

“But it does not come into our thinking going into the game. Whatever we understand, we are going into an atmosphere that is — as I have just said, historically, all I know is that going to Everton is a tough, tough game. So that is purely what is on my mind in preparing for that, and we need to be at our best. If we are at our best, close to our best, then we will have a good chance of winning the game. But they are a really good team and they have started well, so we know it is a challenge.”

“You have obviously signed three midfielders this summer,” the next reporter said. “The club signed three forwards last summer, and in all cases I think you are looking to them for the long term. Does that indicate that next year the focus will be much more on the defence and bringing in defenders?”

The head coach answered: “It is not always as simple as that. I understand why you kind of come to that conclusion. It is not always as simple as that. I think there is the evolution of trying to improve things all the time and how the season goes, form, injuries, who is looking good, what the future looks like. There is a lot, there is obviously a lot that goes into it, and step by step we are trying to improve. So we will see how the season goes and what we need to develop. But we have obviously got a clear idea of what we want to look like coming through this summer and then a little bit further down the line.”

“Kobbie has had plenty of praise for his performance at the weekend. After the season that he had last year and not playing any minutes at the World Cup this summer, how are you going to manage him this season? How prominent a role can he have in the team given there is much more competition?”

The manager replied: “Yes, I think the competition is a positive thing, and that is competition not necessarily because it is either one player or the other player. I think it is a collective, to know that it is a strong group. So, obviously Kobbie made big strides last season, from finishing the season so strongly, and he played ever so well last week again. And you can see in him his development and how much he is improving certain aspects of his game, and he wants to learn, is hungry to learn, wants more all the time, which is great because he has had a really good eight months since I have been in. And it would be easy for him to think, this is all right, I have got into the team, played a lot of games and everything is good. But he is pushing for more, as he should.”

“So the beauty of having the competition, if you like, but more the foundation to be strong, is that you can learn off each other, you can help each other. And certainly as a midfield group, we feel like it is really strong. And Kobbie can have another big season for sure. He has come back great, really has come back great, and you saw that at the weekend. But in and around the group, in and around training, you can see him growing. His personality, he is obviously maturing all the time as well, and he is still so young. There is loads still to come from him, which is great.”

Finally, he was asked about Ruben Amorim’s reluctance to play Kobbie Mainoo: “Just to follow up on that, Michael, maybe the previous manager had a few concerns about him defensively, and as a former midfielder, do you work with him specifically on off-the-ball aspects, and how important is he to what you are trying to do and the style of play that you are trying to play here?”

Carrick responded: “We are constantly working, not just me, all the coaches, we are constantly working with all the boys individually on certain things, whether that is on the pitch or off the pitch. Yes, constantly — not lecturing Kobbie at all — but letting him play, letting him express himself, letting him do what he is good at. He has got some amazing attributes that we want to use. And then there is definitely the improvement side, and trying to help him. And the great thing about it is that he wants to learn and you can see him is trying. You try and give him little bits here and there, he really takes it on board well and learns, and that is going to give him a great chance to fulfil his potential, which obviously he has got an awful lot of.”