Michael Carrick says he has not considered his future after Manchester United lose 4-1 at Como
The Manchester United head coach took responsibility for the Champions League defeat and answered Bruno Fernandes’ criticism of the team’s pressing.
Michael Carrick said he had not considered his future as Manchester United head coach after a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Como on 21 October 2026. The loss extended United’s winless run to seven matches and brought questions about his position alongside criticism of the team’s tactics from captain Bruno Fernandes.
‘I’ve not given my position any thought,’ Carrick told a post-match press conference, according to The Independent. He said his concern was for United’s supporters: he had been one of them watching the performance and did not like what he saw. There has been no reported club decision about his job.
Fernandes questions United’s pressing at Como
Fernandes told TNT Sports that the coaching staff had chosen against pressing Como man-to-man. Giving an opponent so much time on the ball could build its confidence, he said, according to BBC Sport’s account of the interview. Asked whether Carrick had got his tactics wrong, Fernandes said that was for the manager and staff to judge, but argued that United sometimes needed to be braver under pressure and press higher.
After being told of those comments at his press conference, Carrick said the system mattered less if players did not run forward and back. ‘Whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run, and you don’t run forward, and you don’t run back, you aren’t going to win,’ he said, according to the BBC. Fernandes had been substituted in the 67th minute.
Carrick accepts responsibility after seven games without a win
Carrick took ‘100 per cent responsibility’ for the performance, The Independent reported, and apologised to the travelling supporters. He described himself as angry and said there was substantial work to do before United’s next game. In a separate interview with TNT Sports, he said the issue was the responsibility players and staff had to the club, rather than whether he expected backing for himself.
The defeat left United without a win in seven games, their longest such run since an eight-match stretch in 2015, according to the BBC. They were 13th in the Premier League, three points above bottom club Sunderland. Carrick had won 12 of 17 matches in charge last season, when United returned to the Champions League after a two-year absence, and was given a two-year contract.
Earlier NewsJaws coverage described Fernandes’ criticism after the Como loss. Carrick’s subsequent reply makes clear that he accepts responsibility for the result while placing the immediate emphasis on preparing United’s players for their next match.
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Sources and context
- ‘Angry’ Michael Carrick responds to questions on Man Utd future after Como calamityThe Independent (republished by Yahoo Sports)
- Manchester United humiliation in Como: Bruno Fernandes rounds on boss Michael CarrickBBC Sport
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.