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Michael Carrick is under increasing pressure(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Michael Carrick will be feeling the pressure with Manchester United following a tough run of results, with issues within his first team evident at present. The top brass at Old Trafford will have been watching Wednesday's Champions League encounter with Como with a close eye, considering the head coach has struggled for form in 2026/27.
While the 45-year-old was a revelation with the club during his interim stint between January and May, the former midfielder has struggled for that same consistency, having been awarded a permanent role this summer. United sit 13th in the Premier League standings at present, having won just one of their opening seven games.
Their Champions League campaign has also been largely unkind. While United enjoyed a 4-0 rout of Sabah in their opening match, it's been a downhill journey ever since.
A 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid earlier this month provided cause for concern, before a nightmarish 4-1 humbling at the hands of Como on Wednesday evening sent alarm bells ringing. The Reds looked sluggish for large parts of the clash at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Joshua Zirkzee's late strike counting for practically nothing thanks to a brace from Nico Paz and further goals from Anastasios Douvikas and Jacobo Ramon.
Speaking in the aftermath of the thrashing under the bright lights of Europe, Carrick was quick to take responsibility, telling TNT Sport: "I 100 per cent take responsibility for the overall team and the performance. That's where it stops.
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"It stops with me. I'm absolutely fine with that, I accept that totally. But as a supporter of this football club for so long, and I care a lot about this football club, to see a performance like that is unacceptable, I have to say."
When asked if this is the level of his current crop of players, Carrick explained: "100 per cent that's not [it] because we've shown it for six or seven months. But you can't turn it on and off and you can't choose when you want to perform and when you don't want to perform, or when you give absolutely everything or when you maybe don't. So, until you do that, you're not going to win football matches enough."
Carrick will know he needs results fast to alleviate the pressure, which is now mounting after this latest setback. The next run of fixtures will be crucial if United are to turn around thier season but it looks an ominous task given the tough matches coming up.
Michael Carrick apologised to fans(Image: Getty Images)
The Reds return to Old Trafford on Sunday, October 25 in the English top flight against Bournemouth, with hopes of capitalising on Marco Rose's similarly poor start to the term. But Bournemouth are a talented team and will come into the match buoyed by their first league win of the season.
Just six days later, Carrick's men travel to Stamford Bridge for a battle with Xabi Alonso's high-flying Chelsea.
A Champions League tie with AS Roma on home turf then kickstarts Manchester United's November, before another home clash with Champions League rivals Aston Villa ahead of the international break - on the other side of which, a fierce derby with Liverpool at Anfield awaits. Whether Carrick will get to that match with the club's arch-rivals will depend on results, with United's patience now bound to be wearing thin.
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