Carrick Says Man United Won’t Repeat Last Season’s Derby Approach Against City

Manchester United boss Michael Carrick says his side are not assuming anything ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby against City at Old Trafford, even though United won the fixture last season.

Speaking to the media before the 16:30 BST kick off, Carrick made clear his team will not simply try to repeat what worked before.

"We're Not Going To Do Everything The Same"

Asked about the derby, Carrick said: "There's no way we're assuming [how it will go]. We won last year but we're not going to do everything the same."

He added that he feels United are heading in the right direction overall. "I feel we're getting better all the time and that helps us. We know it's a big and important game and there's a lot riding on it. We're looking forward to it and we have a short time to recover and prepare for it but we will make the most of it."

Carrick Has Respect For City

The United boss gave credit to Pep Guardiola's side ahead of the game, pointing out the strength in depth City have to call on.

"They're a very good team with good results. They've got players to rotate from and that's the position they're in. We know we have to put in a really good performance to get the result we want," Carrick said.

Cunha Or Sesko Up Top

Carrick was also asked about his options in attack, with Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko both in contention. He said the choice comes down to what United need on the day.

Both players "bring different threats" to the team, Carrick explained, adding that who starts depends "a little bit on the opposition and a little bit on the balance of our team and the spaces we want to attack."

Praise For Rashford

Marcus Rashford also came up in questioning, with Carrick full of praise for the forward's recent form even without end product to show for it.

"Really pleased with him in so many ways. He was a real threat on Sunday, unfortunate to not get more success but he was a real threat. I'm not sure what else to say, just really pleased to have him. We have good options so trying to keep everyone fresh," he said.

Midfield Options Growing Together

Carrick also touched on his midfield, including summer signing Youri Tielemans, saying he has settled in well alongside the rest of the group.

"All our midfielders are technical and able to connect the game forward. It's nice to draw on that and have that in the team. Youri settled in fantastic, Andrey [Santos] settled in great. Mason [Mount], we're asking him to do slightly different things to what he's done in the past but he's able to do that. The understanding between them is growing all the time," he said.

Building For The Long Term

Asked about his own future as head coach, Carrick said he has approached the job from the start as though he would be there for the long haul, even without knowing exactly how long that would be.

"I think I said it pretty early on, all decisions we made were as if we were going to be here for a period of time, I didn't know how long that was going to be, I still don't. We were planning for the future and what we wanted it to look like and that was from day one. The performance the lads gave in that City game [last season] was incredible with all that. From the start, it was planning to where we want to get this club to in the long term," he said.