VIDEO SHOWS: PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MANCHESTER UNITED INTERIM MANAGER MICHAEL CARRICK RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 16, 2026) (MUTV – Do not obscure logo. No resales. No monetisation.) 1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERIM MANAGER FOR MANCHESTER UNITED, MICHAEL CARRICK, SAYING: “They’re (past players) not putting more pressure on me. I don't feel that. I think it's just part of it. You know the role, I understand it. I understand there are plenty of opinions around. Some are positive some are not so much. But I think in some ways for me, in terms of saying about putting pressure on, for me it's totally irrelevant in terms of me and how I go to work and what I focus on. I kind of know already what we want to improve on and how we want to work with the players. And I've already said about improving things, you know. There's a lot of opinions, a lot can be said. It is the way of the world. I'm not gonna pay too much attention to most of that. I think it's not for me to do that. I think it’s for me and the players and the staff to focus on how we're going to succeed. That's our job. That's our responsibility. That's what we are focusing on and where our minds should be. Is doing what we can for this club.” 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERIM MANAGER FOR MANCHESTER UNITED, MICHAEL CARRICK, SAYING: “We want to be near the top – we want to be at the top of the league. I mean, that's pretty obvious to say. But we’ve got to take some small steps towards that. And European football obviously would be a step forward and we've got to keep pushing.” 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERIM MANAGER FOR MANCHESTER UNITED, MICHAEL CARRICK, SAYING: “Yeah, listen, it's fantastic to be here. It's a great feeling for me to be in this position. I’ve played different roles for this club and to fall in love with the club for so long, and it's massive part of my life and has been for so long. And so, I'm fully aware of the position I'm in in so many different ways. As well as that, I'm eager to succeed. You know, we've got a big job to do. It's an important job, and it always is here to win games and to play well and to do it in a certain way. So, there's one side of it that is nice to be here, but the other side of it is focus, concentration and a real drive to improve the team and improve results.” 6. WHITE FLASH 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERIM MANAGER FOR MANCHESTER UNITED, MICHAEL CARRICK, ON HOW TO MEASURE SUCCESS, SAYING: “I think improvement, you know, I think certainly improvement and helping improve individuals. A big part of what I really enjoy is improving individuals. And in the end, I think if you improve the individuals, you know, we create a better team. So certainly, working with the players and the improvement and with that I think – and yeah, listen, results, you know? That's what it is. There's an element of performance, there’s an element of improvement and there's an element of doing what it takes to win in certain ways, in certain occasions. So um, certainly the higher up the league we finish, we want to keep pushing and finish as high up as we possibly can and we'll see where that takes us.” STORY: Michael Carrick said he is blanking out the background noise as he prepares for his second stint as Manchester United's interim manager with a derby against Manchester City. The former midfielder won five Premier League titles at Old Trafford as well as the Champions League, but returns with the club in a rut and struggling to revive the golden days. Carrick has been handed control for the rest of the season and his return has divided opinion, but he says all he is concerned about is salvaging something from the campaign. Former United teammate Gary Neville said Carrick should not be considered as a long-term option while Roy Keane said United should hire "the best of the best". "They're (former players) not putting more pressure on me. I don't feel that. There are plenty of opinions around, some positive, some not too much," Carrick told reporters on Friday (January 16). "For me, the players and staff it's a focus on how we're going to succeed. That's our job." Carrick stepped up from assistant manager to spend 12 days as caretaker manager of United at the end of 2021 after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was undefeated in his three games, including a 3-2 victory over Arsenal. He will have longer to get his ideas across this time, but will need to hit the ground running with his first two games against City and Premier League leaders Arsenal. Last weekend's defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup means United now only have the league to focus on and the target will be getting back into Europe. They are seventh in the standings after one win in their last six league games, but only three points off fourth-placed Liverpool. (Production: Kurt Michael Hall)
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