Michael Carrick has dismissed suggestions that he may have only two matches remaining as Manchester United manager, insisting his attention is firmly on preparing his struggling team for Tuesday’s Champions League encounter with Roma.

Pressure is mounting on Carrick at Old Trafford following Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea, which extended United’s winless streak in all competitions to nine matches — their longest run without a victory in 42 years.

United currently sit just one position above the Premier League relegation zone, having collected only seven points from their opening nine league fixtures.

Their European campaign has also been disappointing. A heavy 4-1 defeat away to Como last month left them 20th in the Champions League standings, with only the top 24 teams advancing beyond the league phase.

At his pre-match press conference on Monday, Carrick was asked whether he believed he had just two games left in charge, with Tuesday’s meeting against Roma followed by Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Aston Villa.

The Villa match will be United’s final game before the upcoming international break.

Carrick insisted that the atmosphere inside the Manchester United dressing room remains positive despite the team’s disappointing start to the campaign.

“Perception is a funny thing. You can make things look all sorts of different ways and think about all sorts of different things,” he said.

“I’ve said it before, the commitment of the players to the club, to me, to each other, I don’t question that at all. We need to play better, we can make better decisions, but commitment is not a thing at all.”

The United manager also defended Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez, who was sent off during Saturday’s defeat at Stamford Bridge.

“Things happen in football, sometimes you do things, sometimes you make decisions, sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes it goes well for you, but the commitment is not an issue for sure,” Carrick added.

Carrick also has fond memories of previous meetings with Roma, having faced the Italian side as a Manchester United player under Sir Alex Ferguson.

He scored twice in United’s memorable 7-1 victory over Roma in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final in 2007.

“It was a magical night, I have to say,” he recalled. “It was one of the best nights, one of the best games, one of the best atmospheres I’ve been fortunate enough to witness.

“The fact that I scored a couple and that was very unusual gives me great memories, but it was more the emotion of the night, I have to say, it was a special one.”