“The manager has got the point across to us”: United’s saviour vs Sunderland reveals what Carrick told the team after drab draw

Manchester United put in a lifeless display and were fortunate to pick up a point from their Premier League encounter against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. Michael Carrick played a heavily rotated side, and it was always expected to be a difficult contest away from home, but a few performances will worry the club management. Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee were given a rare start to try and impress the caretaker head coach, but it is clear that they lack the necessary qualities to make the grade at Old Trafford. Amad, who was not too long ago regarded as a superstar-in-the-making, has gone off the boil since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, and he continued his downward spiral against his former loan club. Senne Lammens was on fire The Black Cats swarmed all over the pitch, and were first to loose balls and won almost all 50-50 duels and came close to scoring on multiple occasions, but for Senne Lammens to come to the Red Devils’ rescue. The home side had 13 shots, and the Belgian produced two fine stops, one in each half, to ensure a first 0-0 draw for the away side this season. He will be pleased with his efforts, considering his mistake last week against Liverpool. With Champions League qualification secured, it almost seemed like the players were going through the motions at times. But the United No.1 revealed after the game that Carrick had explained to the group that the season is not done and the goal should be to win all remaining matches. What Michael Carrick told the players Speaking after the game, the goalkeeper said, “We can’t stop here. I know the Champions League was our main goal, but we want to finish with as many points as possible. We want to finish with a good feeling to build on for next season, so we know how important these final games are for that. “It’s important to show up and deliver in every game. We are going to try to win every game possible. We want to give back to our fans, who have been very supportive this season. “The manager has got the point across to us that this season is not finished. We have got Champions League, but we also want to finish third. We don’t want to finish below third, we want to keep those other teams away from us. I hope – and I think – our team thinks the same way as me.” As for the match itself, the 23-year-old admitted that his team were not good enough on the ball. But they made up for it with doggedness off the ball to pick up a point on the road. Senne Lammens reveals where United struggled “We had to work very hard to keep the clean sheet away at Sunderland, given the way they have been playing this season. “We always knew it was going to be a difficult one and we weren’t at our best on the ball quality-wise, but the most important things were probably not conceding and working together as a team defensively. The team can take some good points away from that. “These are still important games for us because we want to finish as high as possible, with the most points as possible. “However, Sunderland away is a tough one because they are a good team who work well together. So I think it wasn’t our day with the ball, but we can proud of the things we did without the ball.” Up next for the 20-time English league champions is their last home tie of the season, against Nottingham Forest next Sunday. Feature image Stu Forster via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25