Michael Carrick calls for calm with Man United’s dismal start ‘not the end of the world’

Michael Carrick has accepted responsibility for Manchester United ’s poor start to the season but also called for perspective, saying a run of poor results was “not the end of the world”. The club currently sit 13th in the Premier League and have only won one of their first four top-flight games, while a 1-0 derby defeat against 10-man Manchester City was followed by a stunning 3-2 loss to Brighton in the Carabao Cup this Wednesday despite having led 2-0. That defeat was the first time United have lost at home from 2-0 up in 50 years and the players were booed off at full-time as fans vented their fury. Speaking ahead of their next match, against winless Fulham , Carrick expressed confidence that a turnaround was imminent. He said: “It's not a catastrophe or a disaster. It's not the end of the world. “We're not in a place where we've got an awful long run of horrific results. We've lost a couple of games recently, and we feel that we've started and been in all the games that we've played, if not being a better team at the start of a game. “It's not like we're having a real struggle all the time. We've done a lot of good things in them... So the belief certainly comes from that. The good things that we've done get totally lost by, in some ways, the surrounding feeling, but it doesn't get lost by us.” Carrick said he was “confident we can get past it” and that the run of poor form was “my responsibility”. He added: “I'm fine with that [taking responsibility]. It's not a blame game. Blame me, no problem. I'll take the responsibility, whatever it is, but it's not about blaming people. “It's about, for us, finding the solutions and being better. And us as a whole football club, as a group of players, as staff, as owners, supporters. It's a whole collective thing. I just know where we want to get to, and we want to get there fast.” Asked whether he felt he was under pressure to turn things around quickly, Carrick said: “I think there'll be a lot longer than one or two games of results. Diogo Dalot of Manchester United reacts after defeat to Brighton (Getty) “I understand what we need to achieve and where we need to be as a football club, for the owners, what they expect, for the supporters as much as anything. More importantly for me, what they expect and what they want to see. “I get all that. I get two or three games that we've had certain results, and two or three games too many because I really hate losing, but that doesn't mean that the world caves in. It can't for us, because we've got to perform, we've got to win and we've got a lot of games to play for.” Carrick also urged restraint in conversations around 15-year-old academy product JJ Gabriel , who sparked a flurry of headlines this week amid reports he intends to leave the club following issues between his family and United. Carrick did not offer an update on his future but said: “I think he's a young boy, JJ, and I think it's important that we certainly don't play anything out here. I think with the exposure and the scrutiny and everything that you've got to be careful, be sensible, and think of him as much as anything. “So the situation will work itself out, or whatever way it's going to work itself out. Make sure he's okay.”