“I’m not happy with he amount of points we’ve got so far, for sure, you know,” said Carrick.
“I’m not hiding, there’s no hiding from that. I think it could have been different for a couple of little things here or there, but the reality is the reality, we’ve got to accept it, you know. We need to put things in a direction, in a positive direction quite quickly, that’s pretty plain.”
The ‘little things’ Carrick talks about are the defending for Solanke’s goal, the lack of pressure put on Everton’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles when he smashed another injury-time equaliser at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on 6 September, and the preventable Martinez own goal that nearly gave Fulham victory at Craven Cottage just before the international break.
“We’ve got to be a little bit more streetwise in moments, a little bit more stubborn and a little bit stronger in seeing out certain things,” he added.
“It doesn’t change my belief or the confidence in the players, you know. We’re a really good team and capable of being a really good team, but we’ve obviously got to start getting more points on the board, that’s for sure.”
The problem is with each disappointment, the belief of United being ‘a really good team’ starts to ebb away.
Yet again, a post-match focus centred on how much Carrick’s team ran, even though running for the sake of it has proved to be of little benefit.
“The stats don’t lie when every time the other team runs more than you,” said Sky Sports pundit and former Spurs captain Jamie Redknapp.
“Tottenham ran 5km more than Man United. OK, they had 10 men but that is every game. If you outrun your opposing number, you will win games. I’m not saying they are not trying. It is that physical battle they are losing though.”
While, ex-Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy, added on BBC Match of the Day: “There was a lethargy about Man Utd, this midfield can’t control games. It is partly tactical and partly personnel.
“I don’t understand it. We saw at the end of last season Man Utd were much more organised and much more difficult to play against.
“The space in midfield was incredible and if they were playing against a more competent side, they would have been beaten. Play like that against good teams and they will be cut wide open.”