Source: Team_Talk
Carrick issues Rooney warning
Michael Carrick is warning his Manchester United team-mates not to get sidetracked by the furore surrounding Wayne Rooney.[LNB] As Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill meet to work out the official response to a forceful attack on the club's recruitment policy, which Rooney outlined in a statement last night, preparations are already beginning for Sunday's Premier League trip to Stoke.[LNB]And after recording a narrow Champions League win over Bursaspor last night, Carrick knows the seismic events off the field cannot deflect his team-mates' focus now.[LNB]"You have to distance yourself from it," he said. "You have no choice.[LNB]"Obviously, the player and the club are huge, not just in England but around the world. It is big news.[LNB]"But we can only control what happens out on the pitch. That is all we can be focussed on."[LNB]Carrick has not spoken to Rooney - a team-mate for both club and country - since it became apparent the striker no longer wishes to remain at Old Trafford.[LNB]The midfielder acknowledges it is hardly his place to get involved in what has turned into a personal PR battle between Ferguson and Rooney.[LNB]However, he did concede the row had a strange effect on the crowd, even if it didn't alter the eventual outcome.[LNB]"It was a funny atmosphere," he said.[LNB]"But we had a job to do. We needed to get a result that would put us in a better position for the group.[LNB]"Nothing changed in that respect.[LNB]"I certainly didn't see it as extra pressure. We have that anyway."[LNB]
