‘That's a ridiculous thing to say’ - Carrick hits out at reporter after being questioned about team passion

The Red Devils began their Premier League season with a stunning 2-0 loss to newly-promoted Hull City on Saturday.

The result was a humbling start for Carrick, who had an impressive record as interim manager, losing just two of 17 matches. 

United's new-look midfield, featuring debutants Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, struggled to make an impact and were both substituted in the second half.

In a post-match interview with Viaplay, former player-turned-broadcaster Jan Age Fjortoft questioned Carrick's team's commitment.

"Would you accept that there was a lack of passion in the first half?" Fjortoft asked. "Oh, come on, that's ridiculous," Carrick retorted sharply.

When pressed on the matter, the United manager elaborated: "Come on, you played football, you understand that's a ridiculous thing to say. Just because you got beat doesn't mean you don't care about it."

Fjortoft attempted to clarify, suggesting Hull had simply shown more fight, but Carrick was not convinced.

"No, no. Their two goals came from set plays. Other than that, we had opportunities," Carrick explained. "That was where the game was. 

“I don't think it was passion or anything to do with that. I think it was just their moment that made the difference in the game."

The manager pointed to the specifics of the match rather than abstract concepts like passion. "It’s a game of football, it’s a Premier League game," he said. 

"It’s their first game at home, and we’ve seen it many times before. I said it before the game because it was always going to be a tough game."

"And set-plays, yeah, that’s it. We’ve been decent over a period of time at dealing with them, and today we didn’t," Carrick conceded. 

"We can look into that, we can dissect it. We certainly won’t get carried away with the positives or the negatives. We never do. So I think we can stay calm and understand what we need to get better at."

Despite the setback, United are set to strengthen their squad with the impending £70 million arrival of Carlos Baleba from Brighton.