The interim boss of Man Utd spoke ahead of Fulham's visit to Old Trafford for his third game in charge. After victories over Man City and Arsenal, Carrick doesn't want anyone to get too carried away and while there's the potential distraction of the remaining days of the transfer window, he wants full focus on Fulham.
We all know that Patrick Dorgu will be out for Sunday's visit of Fulham but interim boss Michael Carrick has confirmed that while he will be out for a period of time, "we're still working out how long it's going to be."
He also confirmed that Joshua Zirkzee is back in training while fellow Dutchman Matthijs De Ligt is still not training with the team.
On transfers in January, Carrick says "never say never" as much can occur in the remaining couple of days. However, he is staying calm before the window closes.
The ex-midfielder believes that "consistency is the key" in terms of success yet it is one of the most difficult things to achieve. Despite a great couple of weeks with victories over Man City and Arsenal, the interim says that it's "about keeping the mind in the right place."
It's six years to the day sine skipper Bruno Fernandes joined the club. On his future, Carrick doesn't want to get too ahead of themselves and that focus is on Fulham. Things such as contracts and futures will be discussed towards the end of the season.
He spoke about the captain's consistency and passion to which he gives him a lot of credit for.
Defender Lisandro Martinez did an interview in which he spoke glowlingly about Carrick in which he addressed how the interim has 'touched his heart'. Carrick's response to this was that "you've got to play with feeling, emotion, excitement." This is something they've spoken about.
On Sunday's opponents, Carrick doesn't want to make too much of it. While the previous two victories were great, he believes that this too, will be a tough game. "We are not taking anything for granted."
Final Thoughts
I doubt we'll see much activity towards the end of the window. I agree with Carrick that we should never say never but what business we might do perhaps won't be the business we need.
We can see us signing players who aren't going to truly elevate us to the next level nor excite us that they could perhaps keep us in the Champions League positions.
Like Wilfried Ndidi. C'mon 😑.
I'd rather have Carrick himself in midfield.
I think at the moment, the club is rolling the dice by staying inactive this window. I believe they're hoping that with this squad and playing one game a week, with the uplift in mood over the last couple of weeks and an ex-legend in charge, that will be enough to see us achieve our goal.
It can happen but why risk it?
This match against Fulham is seen as the true test for this team.
Beating City and Arsenal was surprising but not entirely unforeseen as when it comes to the big games, this team can show up.
However, against the lesser opponents, that's where they struggle.
This is why I believe Carrick keeps emphasizing the fact that it's about staying grounded and not getting too ahead of ourselves.
I was getting frustrated with the amount of content out there sort of over-glazing the team and manager in the last two matches. I did this video in regards to my thoughts about that.
That's why he's talking about consistency because that's the one thing we've missed.
I find that Carrick's calm nature is calming me as he will keep to his words of not letting anyone get too ahead of themselves which ties in nicely with what Martinez had to say about him.
Carrick would understand better than most what it takes to play for United. He would know the true passion one needs in order to wear the red shirt.
I'm not saying that previous managers didn't, but an ex-player would do so better than others.
As a midfielder, his understanding of the game and his teammates was key to his success. I think Carrick is using that same understanding and calm character to get to his players as well.
He'll know, like the butcher for instance, how to get the best out of them. Martinez as with all South Americans, do play with a lot of passion and heart. We saw how Casemiro reacted to the win in the Derby as he leaped onto Carrick's back.
That doesn't happen by chance.
This is one of the things I believe the interim has improved as he's already developed a good relationship with the players and why they've responded to that instantly.
Michael Carrick | Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images via Manchester Evening News