Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has called on his team-mates to produce a much improved display when the Reds face Shrewsbury Town in the Emirates FA Cup on Monday night.
The first leg of the Europa League round-of-32 tie against Midtjylland signaled the start of a triple-header of cup fixtures for United, but this mini-series began in the worst possible way with a defeat at the hands of the Danish side. It was a disappointing night for everyone at United, but Carrick claims the result will not affect the side’s focus on the next assignment – reaching the quarter-finals of English football’s most famous cup competition.
“I don’t think it’s a concern – I think Monday’s a different game,” Carrick told ManUtd.com. “But we need to be so much better than we were on Thursday night. We know what to expect but it’s going to be tough and Thursday’s game proves that if you’re not at your best then you can slip up, so we need to be ready for that.
“Football’s a funny game and sometimes it throws up different things but we know what to expect at Shrewsbury – it’s not going to be an easy game,” he continued. “If we’re at our best, we should win the game. But it’s not as easy as that, as we showed on Thursday.”