The honeymoon period for Michael Carrick is officially over.
Every single manager knows that the inevitable loss will come and that honeymoon period will finish, but it's how Carrick will react to that, how the team reacts to that under his management which will show Manchester United fans if he's up for the job full-time.
He came flying out of the blocks with the Manchester City and Arsenal games, and even the Fulham and the Spurs games. We had goals, the football was exciting, the momentum was there, the points were stacking up and, even though we continued to pick up points in the West Ham game and Everton games, it did feel as if the performance levels were starting to dip.
With the Crystal Palace game, the red card really got Manchester United out of trouble. I think we finally got what we deserved in that Newcastle defeat. I never want to lose a game ever, ever, ever – especially not to 10 men – however, I think this will be a wake-up call to Carrick and the squad and it’s all about how they react.
Can they get their form back up to the levels that we saw when Carrick initially came in? Because, despite the unbeaten run and seemingly picking up points from everywhere, it just shows after one loss how unforgiving the Champions League race really is. I still think United will get Champions League football, I think we're still in it, but there's no better game to bounce back than Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
It is a true Champions League race and our club are up for it. It's a cup final and I think Carrick needs to play on one of his key strengths that he's shown since coming into the job – and that is his composure.
He needs to instil in the squad that it's just one loss, it doesn't dismantle the progress we've seen. It doesn't dismantle this run we've been on. It's one loss. We go again and we continue to win games. Don't let this be a spiral.
We want to pick up points. Champions League football is the main thing. But how are we going to play from now until the end of the season? I believe in Carrick to get us Champions League football and I do think we will beat Aston Villa.
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