Monday 14 December 2015 07:56, UK
Michael Carrick says Manchester United can only regain their fear factor by winning games again.
Louis van Gaal's side were beaten 2-1 at Bournemouth on Saturday Night Football after crashing out of the Champions League following defeat in Wolfsburg earlier in the week.
United have now gone five Premier League games without a win, their worst run in a single season since 1998/99 when Sir Alex Ferguson ended up leading them to a league title, FA Cup and Champions League treble.
"That comes with winning games," Carrick said when asked if United's fear factor had gone.
"We need to get back to winning games. It's not for me to get involved really, I'm just about getting back to work really and working hard this week and we're focused on next week to get back to winning games.
"That's always important for us as players and that's all we can focus on. I think it would be wrong to focus on anything else."
Van Gaal had nine first-team regulars unavailable at Bournemouth and Carrick defended the performance of inexperienced replacements, including full-backs Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Guillermo Varela, and said blaming their run of form on injuries is not something he wanted to do.
"It's been a tough one to take, very disappointing week. Going out of the Champions League was obviously tough to take and we were very disappointed," he said.
"And then to come here, we wanted to bounce back. We tried to bounce back and to fall short like we have is doubly disappointing.
"I could say different reasons, I could talk a lot, but at the end of the day it's about the results. We need to get back, stick together and trust ourselves to do the right thing and bounce back next week.
"I mean, we've had a few injuries, I'm not making any excuses but if you look at the injuries. I thought the young lads did well, to be honest. It was a tough one to come into, tough two games.
"They've stepped in and done well. I don't like making excuses, we've got the squad, we're the club that we are because we want to be fighting in the competitions, when you've got injuries you've got to deal with them so I'm not making excuses."
Having finished third in their Champions League group, United will now be awaiting their Europa League opponents and Carrick says they are determined to win the competition.
"To be out of the Champions League is a big blow for us - you can't deny that. That's there, that's obvious for everyone to see.
"We'll be giving everything to win that competition [Europa League], just like we're always giving everything in every game. It doesn't always work but as players that's all we can do."
