Michael Carrick has explained that Manchester United will keep trying to play attacking football under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
United have been criticised in recent weeks for conceding too many goals — they have the worst record of the Premier League top 10, having conceded 30 goals in 23 games — after their 3-3 draw with Everton.
But at the same time, United have scored the most goals in the league and have a dangerous set of forward players, led by Bruno Fernandes.
Carrick stressed the need for balance in United's approach, but says the attacking football will continue.
“I just think the team is developing and we keep trying to add certain things in some ways but it’s down to the boys as well,” Carrick told United's in-house media.
“It’s down to the individuals. We fully believe in what the boys are capable of and the potential they still have and that encouragement, as Ole says a lot, is for them to express themselves.
“There is a balance, of course there is. You can’t have the whole team in the box. There is a balance to be had. We want to attack with numbers, be exciting and play quick football. Thankfully, we’ve managed to do that.”
Carrick highlighted the 9-0 victory over Southampton as an example of United's ability to blow teams away, with that performance a key template for futures displays, he said.
“We want the boys to express themselves,” Carrick added.
“There is real talent in the group and we just want them to express themselves. We play well when we play a certain way and I thought you couldn’t fault the boys against Southampton [recently] because there were so many good things in the performance.
“Whether that’s against 10 or 11 men, is not so much a factor, as the things we are looking for you could see in abundance. As staff, we were delighted, but more delighted for the players. Going into a game like that, which was a tough one going into it, and to produce a performance like they did was a credit to them.”
