Michael Carrick has refused to rule out becoming Manchester United’s permanent head coach at the end of the season, with the interim denying the club has become “soulless”.
Carrick was appointed as Ruben Amorim’s replacement on Tuesday, briefed with overseeing United’s final 17 games of the season. He arrived after Darren Fletcher’s two-game spell in charge that took in a Premier League draw at Burnley and an FA Cup third-round defeat by Brighton at Old Trafford.
United wish to assess several candidates for the permanent head coach role in the summer. Thomas Tuchel, Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto De Zerbi, Andoni Iraola, and Oliver Glasner, who confirmed on Friday he will leave Crystal Palace at the end of the season, are among the names in the frame.
Carrick played for United for 12 years, was a coach for three years before departing in December 2021, having also managed the team for three matches after Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s sacking in November that year, and indicated on Friday that he wants his return to the club to be long term.
“I’m here because I enjoy the role and I wanted to do it and I’m hugely privileged to be in this position,” said the 44-year-old. “It doesn’t change whatever the term or whatever the length.”
There have been no discussions with Omar Berrada, the chief executive, and Jason Wilcox, the director of football, regarding Carrick’s long-term future. “We’re realistic about where we are at the moment, why I’m here,” said the former midfielder. “That doesn’t change how we go about it in the day-to-day and the focus and making decisions for the long term. All I can control is what we give the players and how we create the atmosphere around the group. We’ll see what happens after that.”
Given the turmoil after Amorim’s sacking and United being out of both domestic cup competitions, meaning, at 40 games, this will be their shortest season since the 1914-15 campaign, it was put to Carrick that the club has lost its soul. “I certainly don’t think it’s soulless,” he said. “There’s a magic around this place. Results and sometimes from the outside things look a little different but it certainly doesn’t feel majorly different on the inside.”
Fletcher described the squad as having fragile confidence. Carrick was asked how he has tried to change this before Saturday’s visit of Manchester City. “It’s funny, confidence, because you can sometimes get it from a moment or a situation and all of a sudden it sparks,” he said.
“When you’re confident and in the zone everything happens slower and everything is clear and you’re calm. Sometimes when you want something so much you can almost over try and it over affects you at times. We’re here to support the players and hopefully they’ve felt that the last few days.”
United are seventh in the Premier League on 32 points, three places and three points off Liverpool in fourth, and Carrick was asked if he would deem it a personal failure if he could not guide United to Champions League qualification in the next four months. “You’ve got to be careful about what’s a success and what’s a failure. I think it’s not as clearcut as that,” he said.
Carrick shrugged off Roy Keane’s jibe regarding his wife “probably doing the team talk” at United by claiming it does not bother him.
Keane made the comment about Lisa Carrick on the Stick To Football podcast. The Irishman was responding to Jamie Carragher’s comment that United should not have employed Carrick as interim head coach for a second time. “Well, his wife can always come in because she’s got a bit of a big mouth sometimes. She’s probably doing the team talk,” Keane said.
The comment was a clear reference to the fallout that occurred between Keane and Lisa Carrick in February 2014 after the former criticised Michael Carrick’s display and post-game comments following United’s 2-0 Champions League defeat against Olympiakos. Lisa Carrick responded with a social media post that read: “Roy Keane what a ****, says anything to provoke a reaction.”
“Honestly, it didn’t bother me,” said Carrick in response.
v José Mourinho (pictured)
Played 6 Won 3 Drew 1 Lost 2
v Ole Gunnar Solskjær
Played 9 Won 4 Drew 1 Lost 4
v Ralf Rangnick
Played 1 Won 1
v Erik ten Hag
Played 7 Won 4 Drew 1 Lost 2
v Ruben Amorim
Played 3 Won 1 Drew 1 Lost 1
Total: P26 W13 D4 L9
Source: Opta
Meanwhile, Casemiro will trigger a one-year option on his contract of around £356,000-a-week if he makes 35 starts this season. The Brazilian has so far made 18 starts and Carrick would have to name him in all of United’s remaining 17 fixtures for the clause to be activated.
