Sir Alex Ferguson "always knew" Michael Carrick would enjoy a successful career in football, as the former England international takes his first steps into management.
Carrick, 41, was appointed by Championship strugglers Middlesbrough on Monday. The ex-midfielder has succeeded the sacked Chris Wilder at the Riverside and is aiming to lead Boro to safety. Carrick's side are just one point and place above the relegation zone.
Ferguson signed Carrick for United in July 2006 and the player went on to 17 trophies at Old Trafford. The legendary manager has no doubts about the Englishman's mental strength after he left his hometown at a young age to become a professional footballer.
"One of the things that stuck out to me when we were profiling him and preparing to make a bid was that as a young boy, 16 years of age, he left home to play for West Ham," Ferguson once said. "That tells you that the boy had the confidence that he was going to make it.
"A 16-year-old kid from Newcastle going to east London, that's a trek, and it impressed me. From the minute we bought Michael in 2006, his character has always been outstanding. He's a football man and that character, coupled with his ability, made him a certainty to be a big success at United."
Carrick never got the chance to play for his boyhood club Newcastle and endured various trials before he got his chance at West Ham as a 16-year-old. Loan spells at Swindon Town and Birmingham City followed before joining Tottenham in the summer of 2004, where he impressed during a two-year stint to earn a move to Old Trafford.
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Carrick arrives at the Riverside with limited managerial experience. He was a first-team coach at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and he experienced a spell as United's caretaker manager when the latter left last November.
Yet Carrick is determined to be successful at Middlesbrough. "I’m really excited to be here and to be part of a club with such a deep history and tradition," he told the club's website. "Middlesbrough was the first professional club I played for [on trial] as a nine-year old boy, so it’s a very special feeling to be back here as a head coach.
"Growing up in the north-east myself I’m fully aware of what football means to people. It’s a real privilege for me to be in this position and to feel all the passion and enthusiasm you’ve got for the game and for Boro.
"I’ll give everything to help develop the team and keep moving the club forward and make you the supporters proud. I can’t wait to get started."
United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is also backing Carrick to become a successful coach. "He can be a really top manager in the future if he gets the chance," said the Portugal international when Carrick left United last December.
"He knows how to speak, he knows a lot about football. He was one of the great players that not a lot of people talk about. For what I have seen, for me he can be a top coach."
