With a plea, Michael Carrick defends United “I keep the umbrella”

With an emotional six‑minute plea, Michael Carrick tries to save his position at Manchester United and says: “I hold the umbrella so that I get wet and everyone around me stays dry.” The 45‑year‑old coach is responding to the team's recent poor run.

While the media speculate about his successor, Manchester United coach Michael Carrick sits on a wobbly chair and begins the press conference. In a six‑minute speech he harkens back to the mentality of club icons. The overview shown beforehand contained the terms Football, Tennis, Formula, Programme, Jupiler, Pro, League, Challenger, Champions, Europa, Conference, More and Premier, a broad sport mix.

Seven matches without a win

After a dramatic run of seven matches without a win, Manchester United recently ended with a 4‑1 defeat to Como in the Champions League. Carrick admitted that “lately we haven’t done well”. He described the situation as unacceptable.

“It hurt me to see us play like that this week,” said the 45‑year‑old Englishman. “It is my responsibility to field a team that represents this club and its supporters and that they can be proud of.”

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To underscore his message, Carrick cited the mentality of Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs. “It was about humility, modesty and hard work,” he emphasized, adding that these values must never be lost.

Starting choices and possible change

Carrick wondered whether captain Bruno Fernandes, who questioned the tactical choices after the defeat to Como, will still get a place in the starting line‑up. “The most important thing for me is the team. I will always do what is best for the club,” he said. He did not rule out that Fernandes could remain out of the starting line‑up against Bournemouth.

The controversial umbrella‑metaphorical image was cited again: “I will hold the umbrella so that I get wet and everyone around me stays dry,” said Carrick, as he described the storm surrounding Manchester United.

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Off the field, speculation about a possible successor is already intense. Antonio Conte, who previously worked at Chelsea and Tottenham, denied via Instagram that he is in negotiations with United and said he is “taking time to decide on his future.”