Manchester United's head coach Michael Carrick has responded to criticism aimed at the team's pressing and work rate, asserting that pressuring opponents is only one element of football and should not be viewed as the definitive indicator of performance.
The Reds manager touched on this subject ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash against Bournemouth, after comparisons were drawn about physical conditioning and pressing styles to former managers like Ruben Amorim and Ralph Rangnick.
When asked about the long-standing criticisms of United players regarding their running statistics, Carrick stated:
I think we have to be careful with statements like that. The notion that we don’t run is puzzling. As I've mentioned, we have won a lot of games over a certain period, and this pressing topic seems to have suddenly gained traction... pressing is a small part of football.
The coach emphasised that pressing can take various forms depending on a team’s strengths, tactical approach, and the areas of the pitch needing coverage:
There are a lot of differing opinions on what qualifies as pressing, what it truly is, and why you're doing it. Is it aligned with your strengths? Are you covering all zones? The term 'pressing' is thrown around quite liberally today. You don’t have to press to win football matches. Sometimes it's necessary, sometimes it isn’t. It’s merely a term that’s used indiscriminately. So we need to be careful with that.
Carrick also pointed out that physical metrics and running statistics do not solely determine the outcomes of matches:
As I said, running stats alone don't dictate the result of football matches. Therefore, we need to get back to performing many of the things we did well last season, and in certain spells of the last campaign, we looked quite good. We need to find our best form again.
