CARRICK: WE'RE DETERMINED TO BOUNCE BACK

Manchester United return to action against Huddersfield Town in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday and club captain Michael Carrick has declared the Reds are determined to bounce back, after suffering a shock Premier League defeat at Newcastle last weekend.

The much-decorated skipper knows this is a pivotal period in the season and, having recently returned to full fitness, is 100 per cent focused on achieving more success over the coming months. Here, you can read Carrick’s interview with MUTV’s Stewart Gardner at the Aon Training Complex…
We have an FA Cup tie at Huddersfield, a Champions League trip to Sevilla and then a big Premier League match against Chelsea. Is this the best time of the season for a player?It is the most exciting time of the season, certainly, because everything is to play for. You want to get through to the next round of the cup competitions, but it can also end there and then. It is when the pressure and expectation cranks up and it changes, but that is what we want to be involved in - the big games, the edgy games, coming out on top and that’s what makes winning so special.
You’ve missed much of the season, so you must be pleased to be back?It is great to be back. I have managed to get involved in the last couple of weeks. It has been a bit of a long season for me, a frustrating one for me personally, but it is what it is and I just have to get on with it. So it is nice to be back now and I am looking to push on with a good finish to the season.
Huddersfield Town are a Premier League club, but they’ll still be excited to have a club like United in town. When you go to a club like that, is there always a buzz? In cup ties, whoever you play, there is a different buzz to a normal league game. Huddersfield have come so far in recent times, they are doing well in the Premier League and want to do well in the cup. It is a big game for them but it is equally as big for us. It is the next game in front of us and we are going there expecting to win and to go through to the next round, but we expect it to be a tough game and we are not taking it for granted by any means, because we are well aware of Huddersfield’s strengths and what the FA Cup can bring. We got through the last round and a tricky tie, which we got through quite comfortably, and hopefully we can do the same again.
Do you expect Huddersfield to be as physical as they were at Old Trafford?Of course! They are fighting to go through in the cup. They are fighting to stay in the Premier League. They fought hard to achieve promotion, to get where they are, and they don’t want to give that up. The bare minimum you expect from them is to be aggressive and work hard. We expect the same in the cup. It is a one-off game and anything can happen. We are certainly expecting something.
At United, there is always criticism and scrutiny after the defeat, like the one we suffered at Newcastle on Sunday. What’s the mood in the camp this week?There is definitely a determination to put it right. You can’t ignore the fact that, when you have a bad result or two, here there is criticism and scrutiny that comes with it. You expect it and get used to it. The feeling from me and the lads in general is a determination to get back out there and put it right and bounce back. You can’t sit and mope about it. It is what it is and that’s why we play for this club. There is a responsibility to do well and you have to deal with it.
Is the FA Cup still special?It’s very special! One of my best days and achievements was when Jesse [Lingard] put that volley in and we won the FA Cup. Winning the FA Cup was my dream as a kid and, even though we’ve managed to win it now, it hasn’t dampened down that desire to win it again and that’s what we’re striving to do.
MUTV’s live build-up to Huddersfield v United will begin on Saturday at 15:30 GMT.