Michael Carrick has expressed his satisfaction after Manchester United ended their Premier League campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory away to Brighton & Hove Albion.
As earlier reported by Softfootball, the impressive win saw captain Bruno Fernandes cap off another remarkable season with a standout performance as United closed the campaign strongly under Carrick’s leadership.
Speaking during his post-match press conference shared on the club’s YouTube channel, Carrick admitted he was delighted with the way the team finished the season.
However, the Manchester United manager stressed that the focus now remains on continuing to build and improve moving forward:
Absolutely delighted with today and particularly over the last two or three weeks when positions kind of cemented. We know where we are in the league and it’s easy to drift and lose a bit of momentum, lose a bit of focus and we kind of have treated it as it’s all one season going into the next one. Really it’s not ended here.
Carrick praised the players for their hunger, mentality, and desire to win, highlighting the spark and energy the squad consistently showed throughout the final weeks of the campaign.
I think we wanted to keep building and keep pushing and credit to the players. It is not easy that sometimes to do it as much as we have expected, hope for being there and is to find our Spark for the hunger was there. You could see it and it was probably the toughest team to play that type of game when in the heat the way they move the ball , so it needed a really strong mentality which I was absolutely delighted with because that’s the foundation we need to show and have to give us the confidence to move forward.
The former midfielder, who recently signed a new contract keeping him at Old Trafford until June 2028 with an option extending to 2029, also reflected on the club’s long-term project.
Carrick acknowledged that there is still significant work to do, insisting Manchester United must continue improving in every aspect as they aim to return to the very top level consistently. He also hinted at giving more opportunities to young academy talents in the future as part of the club’s development plans.
Genuinely it hasn’t changed how delighted I am here for long and we need to keep progressing, but in terms of it hasn’t been a big moment this week for us. We just keep pushing, keep working. I think we have done since we started. I have said that to you, all along really and there’s work to do. We got to keep moving improving. We want to be a bit a little bit better but it is so so encouraging doing it from this place and sharing that moment with the supporters, again at that end I think it is important for us because that’s why why we are here , that’s why it drives us on getting younger players on the pitch and giving them the opportunities is what we are at this club.
Despite emphasizing the need for progress, Carrick praised the squad’s consistency throughout the season and explained that his excitement comes from knowing the club already has a strong foundation to build upon.
In his comments:
I think they need to be a lot of credit as well as a group for how consistent they have been in different ways we have games and how strong they are knitted. I think that’s really important for us to appreciate, you know and that’s what gives encouragement and excitement moving forward that we got a real strong foundation now to try and build on
The manager also addressed the future of Bruno Fernandes amid reports that Manchester United have opened discussions over a new contract despite the midfielder’s reported £57 million release clause.
Watch the full video:
https://youtu.be/QeQmw0j8FqM?si=7KNGHDGz8P_bAFnA
Carrick described Fernandes as a fantastic influence within the dressing room and praised the Portuguese star’s leadership qualities as captain. According to Carrick, Fernandes continues to lead by example both on and off the pitch, insisting there is “no reason to think otherwise” about his importance to the team.
