Manchester United boss Michael Carrick has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Premier League game against West Ham at London Stadium (kick-off 20:15 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Mason Mount will not be fit to face West Ham but could return to action against Everton (23 February), while Matthijs de Ligt will also be considered around the same time.
Carrick says keeping clean sheets is helping the cause greatly and praised his players for absorbing what has been asked of them. He said: "We do seem to be a team that can cause a lot of problems and create opportunities and score goals, so it's definitely getting the balance right. There's still things to improve on, it's definitely something we've focused on, trying to be better as a team collectively when we don't have the ball."
He says West Ham's lowly position means they will be "fighting" but he stated: "So are we. We've got a lot to fight for, so you'd like to think that balances out in some ways and it's who can come out on top at the end of it, but sure, we're totally aware of what we're going into on Tuesday night and how difficult it will be."
Carrick was asked if the wins he gained early on at Middlesbrough mean he approaches this early success at Man Utd differently: "You definitely take the confidence and the feeling from the games that you've had knowing you can go into the next game with a little bit more feel-good factor about it, but I guess the big challenge is knowing what's got you there and all the hard work and the preparation and then what it takes to win a game of football at this level is tough, so never assuming the next one's just going to be all right. But you've still got to allow yourself to feel the little bits and waves of emotion with it. You're all a little bit boring and pointless if you didn't really to be honest."
The caretaker boss says he has a "really good relationship" with captain Bruno Fernandes, who has stated he thinks Carrick will go on to be a great manager.
Carrick added: "I understand how much he's a really intelligent footballer, he's bright, he cares a lot for this club, so in terms of that side of it, we all want the same thing. So, it's obviously nice when players that you respect, as I do with Bruno a lot, says good things about you, but ultimately it's about the team, getting the best out of the team, and actually that's all working together. So, time will tell, it's not about judging how good or successful at this moment in time, because nothing's really happened yet. We've hopefully got a lot more to do between now and the end of the season, and see what happens after that."
Hear more from Carrick on BBC Sounds
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