Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick is working to identify mistakes after his first loss, a 2-1 defeat to 10-man Newcastle on Wednesday, according to sources. The loss was the first blip of Carrick's tenure, which had seen instant success with six wins in his first seven games, as reported. Manchester United have an extended break due to their FA Cup exit, giving Carrick more time to find solutions ahead of the Aston Villa clash next weekend, sources indicate.
Manchester United and Aston Villa are level on points, with Manchester United above on goal difference, and Manchester United are third in the league, per reports. Michael Carrick stated, 'We’ve got to make the best out of it, we’ve got to make it a help. There’s no sense in not learning lessons and understanding why tonight was what it was and how it happened and developed.
Marcus is the guy, if you give him confidence and he sees that you believe in him, he can give you back 200 per cent. He's a very nice guy. We spoke because we are sitting in the dressing room beside [each other]. We also play ping-pong. I see that this guy is very kind, very nice guy but also because of this he needs someone standing behind him. If he does have this confidence he can really play his best football and on the best level. He has huge potential. He has everything. He has speed, he has technique, he has a shot, he has left foot, right foot, skills.
We’ve got to learn from that, so we look at it and we’ll learn from that. It’s an important game, it’s a big week for us, it’s one we look forward to.