Michael Carrick dismisses pressing debate ahead of Bournemouth clash

United head into the Old Trafford fixture without a win in seven matches across all competitions after a difficult spell that included a heavy midweek Champions League defeat to Serie A side Como.

Questions have been raised about the intensity of their performances, particularly around running and pressing statistics but Carrick was unimpressed by the focus on those metrics.

"You've got to be careful with just saying 'not running'. We've won a lot of games over a period of time and this pressing thing; pressing is one small part of football," he said.

"There are all sorts of different ways that are classed as a press. What actually is it? What are you doing it for? Is it to your strength? Is it covering up other spaces?

"It's just thrown about as a bit of a word at the minute. You don't necessarily need to press to win games of football. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't.

"It's not necessarily just running stats that define football games either.

"We've just got to get back to doing a lot of the things that we were doing last season and for certain parts of this season."

Despite the scrutiny surrounding his position, Carrick remains convinced he can reverse the current trajectory and made clear he still believes in the group at his disposal.

"I definitely trust them, 100%. We'll be a different team on Sunday. We have to be a different team on Sunday," he said.

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