Michael Carrick has been pleased with the standard of training set by his players heading into Saturday's game against Coventry City.
We return to the Riverside for No More Red Day, which will see the team where an all-white kit to highlight the dangers of knife crime.
Here are some of Carrick's main points from his pre-match press conference...
ON TRAINING THIS WEEK…
The boys have been really good. They were disappointed (after the Norwich game) and it was good to see the level of disappointment, because it shows the standard we expect from ourselves and the standard we set throughout that game and previous games. I took that as a really good sign. They’ve responded really well, are motivated and are working really hard to give us the best chance of winning the next games.
ON THE SEASON SO FAR…
I’m really pleased with a lot of things. I’ve said it for the past few weeks that I think we’re in a good place as a team and as a squad, and the performances have definitely shown that. It’s about consistency now and continuing to produce performances like we have done, and turning them into consistent results. That’s the biggest thing as the league goes on but there’s still so far to go yet in terms of league position. It’s still about picking up points and there’s a long way to go before the league position becomes that important.
ON COVENTRY…
They’ve got dangerous players in dangerous areas and I think they’re a really good team. They’re well-organised and it’s another classic example of not taking the league table with any kind of serious value yet, especially with them. They showed that last week (against Luton) with a good performance and a thoroughly deserved win. We know what they’re capable of and we’ve played them enough over the last couple of years to know that. They’ve got some really good players that are dangerous, so we certainly face a challenge that we have to be ready for.
ON PAST MEETINGS WITH COVENTRY…
I try to forget about that really. We’ve changed so much as a team. If you look back in terms of the team and squad when we’ve played them previously, it’s changed so much for us. It’s about here and now and we’re in a better place at the moment. I’m not saying that gives us a better chance of winning, because we’ve got to be good again against a good team, but the here and now and what’s next for us matters more than what’s gone on before.
ON NO MORE RED DAY…
It’s a great initiative. It’s really important that as a football club we try to make an impact with a situation like this. The numbers are not acceptable and to have something so serious so close, it’s important for us to try to improve the situation and have as much impact as we can. We feel doing this will bring it to everyone’s attention and put it to the forefront of our minds for us to be able to improve the situation.