Carrick: Luke Shaw Needs an Extra Day to Recover; We All Want to Play More Champions League Knockout Matches

At 3 a.m. Beijing time on September 11, Manchester United will host Sabah Baku in the first round of the Champions League league phase. On the eve of the match, United head coach Michael Carrick attended a press conference. This article covers the first half of the press conference.

Michael, tomorrow's match is Manchester United's first Champions League game since returning to the competition after several years. What mindset and approach will you have going into the match tomorrow night?

Yes, we've put in a huge amount of work to get back to this position. It's great to be in the Champions League, and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night's game. We're about to begin this Champions League journey, and we hope to go as far as we possibly can in the competition. There will be huge challenges ahead, and tomorrow night is a wonderful beginning. So, yes, it's a very significant season, and we're really looking forward to it.

Michael, Luke Shaw did not take part in today's training. There has been a lot of discussion about how many matches he can actually play. Will he be available tomorrow? What factors are you considering in managing his recovery and matches?

Yes, we simply gave him an extra day to recover today, so we'll see how his body is tomorrow. It's not a lingering old injury or a recurrence, nor is it a specially planned situation. It's simply because he played a match a few days ago. As part of normal management, every player's specific recovery needs are different, and Luke happened to be one of the players who needed some additional recovery management today.

Michael, what does being involved in Europe's top-level football competition mean to you? And what should it mean to Manchester United?

It means an enormous amount. It means competing and testing yourself against the very best elite teams and players. I've said before that, over the course of many years, this club has become accustomed to challenging the strongest opponents and being among the very best teams. But being in that position and staying there for a long period of time is absolutely not something that can be taken for granted. We had been absent from this competition for several years, and now we're back, so I think it means an incredible amount.

We want to be on this stage every year, and that is the expectation we should have of ourselves without becoming arrogant. That's the standard we have to work towards reaching, and whether we can do it is down to us. I think the team has put in a huge amount of work over the past few months and even more than a year, eventually building strong momentum and earning our qualification. Now the key is the next step: moving into the next chapter, the next stage and the next evolution of the team. This is absolutely where we want to stay, but now it's up to us to make sure we can remain here for the long term.

Michael, Sabah Baku are appearing in the Champions League for the first time. When analyzing this team, what aspects of their game have impressed you the most?

First of all, I think they're a well-coached team that executes their tactics extremely well. You can see their tactical ideas and principles very clearly, and those principles can be reproduced consistently. They do a lot of things very well. Obviously, they've won a lot of matches over roughly the past 12 months, and they're playing with a great deal of confidence. You can see that in the way they keep possession and build play through the attacking areas. They have very good understanding between the players, and their overall pressing is also very good. So, we're very clear about the kind of opponent we'll face, and we fully understand the challenge that's coming.

Hi Michael, in the nearly seven years Bruno (Fernandes) has been at the club, he has actually played in the Champions League knockout stage only once. He was just named among the Ballon d'Or nominees yesterday, and he is also currently negotiating a potential new contract. How important is it for this Champions League campaign to go deeper and show top players like Bruno that the team is not just here to participate in the league phase, but can fulfill the ambitions these elite players want to achieve?

We absolutely can achieve that goal. We have the ability to do it, and now, obviously, it comes down to whether we can actually take that step. I think the point you raise also shows that we're trying to improve on the fact that we haven't reached the later stages of the competition in recent years. So, I think we have to remain humble and pragmatic, understanding where our starting point has been and where we want to get to.

As you said, Bruno has only played in the Champions League knockout stage once, so it is our responsibility to keep raising the standards and do the best we possibly can. Like everyone else, we want to reach that level as quickly as possible. But equally, we need to understand and execute every step properly to make that happen. We have the ability to produce very, very good performances, particularly on days when we are in good form, when we feel we can compete with and beat any opponent. The key is whether we can maintain that consistency over a long period, from one match to the next. Consistency naturally brings the results you want, and hopefully it will also bring good results in those key stages you mentioned.

Michael, since you played in the Champions League final in 2011, the club has reached the Champions League quarter-finals only twice. For whatever reason, the team's record in this competition has been inconsistent over the past few years. How do you view that historical record? Do you think it also highlights the importance of consistently qualifying for the Champions League year after year?

Yes, as I said earlier, I think we need to remain humble and understand and accept our recent history, but that does not diminish our motivation, desire or expectations to achieve great success in any way. But I still think it is very important to remain pragmatic and understand the reality, and that requires having a very balanced perspective.

What I can say, though, is that what really matters is the future in front of us. Whether we entered this competition in excellent form or came into it with a less-than-ideal record from the past few years, the most important thing is always what our next step will be. We now have a team and squad that are very excited about this new stage. We need to learn, we need to keep improving, and we need to make the most of these valuable opportunities.

Hi Michael, what strategy will you take when selecting the starting lineup for this competition? Obviously, you played in the competition as a player and know what it takes to win it; as a coach, you have also made bold decisions while managing here—for example, your debut against Villarreal at the time. What approach will you take to team selection in this edition of the competition?

Well, it always requires a balanced perspective. I think that's why we have the squad we have, and we're trying to build the strongest squad possible so that we can adapt to different matches, different opponents' strengths, different styles of play and different match environments. Yes, we have a match on Thursday, a match on Sunday, and then another on Wednesday. That's the reason we're here. So, obviously, it is about managing the entire squad and maintaining trust in every player who is available to play.