Michael Carrick defends Bruno Fernandes for expressing frustration with team-mates on the pitch by moaning at them and throwing his arms in the air
Michael Carrick has no problem with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes expressing frustration with his team-mates on the pitch if ‘it’s meant in the right way’.
Fernandes admits he can get under his colleagues’ skin by moaning at them and throwing his arms in the air during games, but Carrick believes it is done with the intention of getting the best out of the team.
‘If it’s coming from the right place and the intention is to want to do better for everybody, and everyone stays positive with it, then I’ve got no issue with that at all,’ said the United boss.
‘I think as long as it’s meant in the right way, when it’s (not) the wrong body language or the negative kind, it’s healthy to push each other.
‘It’s not a personal thing. It’s a case of performance and getting the best out of each other. I’ve seen players over the years where they just kind of argue for the sake of argument to fire each other up.
‘There’s definitely that and there’s no harm in it. As I say, it’s not personal. It’s for the good of the team and for the good of each other.’
Bruno Fernandes’ moaning at team-mates is not a problem if it is meant in the right way, says Michael Carrick
Carrick says that taking frustrations out on others can be for the ‘good of the team’
Carrick himself has stayed largely composed during his nine games in change, but admits that there have been moments where he had to show a meaner side – particularly around his only defeat at Newcastle.
‘There’s a time and a place,’ he added. ‘Obviously we’re disappointed at times and disappointed with the result at Newcastle. So there’s feelings there.
‘It’s picking the moment. Certainly at times we’ve been a little bit frustrated or a little bit more animated.
‘But that’s how it is. It’s a sport, it’s elite performance. You’ve got to play with emotion and feeling, and sometimes that is a bit more aggressive. It’s a bit more intense sometimes, so you’ve got to manage that. If I don’t manage that, you can’t expect the players to create the right emotion.
‘But the emotion is part of it. I wouldn’t say I’ve put on a performance. I think I go with how I feel at the time. Certain times it’s a little bit louder maybe, sometimes a bit more feeling, other times it’s calm. It depends what the group want and need at certain points as well.’
Ahead of United’s game at Bournemouth on Friday night, Carrick was also asked about the issue of player huddles after Chelsea were caught up in a controversy at the weekend when their players gathered around referee Paul Tierney in the centre-circle before kick-off.
Carrick is happy to let the players make their own decision over any pre-match pep talk. ‘To be honest, at that stage it’s up to the players and how they want to go about it really,’ he said.
‘I don’t get involved in that part of it really. I’ll say my bit in the changing room and before kick-off. But in terms of that, if they want to do it and they feel it helps them, then great. If they felt they actually don’t want to carry on and do it then I’m fine with it.
‘At that moment, they’re on the pitch. It’s up to them as a group. They’ve got to go into battle and they’ve got to have that feeling between them. Whatever suits them. So I’m quite calm about what they do at that point.’
