Michael Carrick has been appointed Manchester United’s head coach until the end of the season as the club looks to stabilise a campaign that has slipped off course. United have already exited two domestic competitions and find themselves struggling for consistency in the Premier League.
The club officially confirmed Carrick’s appointment on Tuesday, with the former midfielder set to oversee his first training session on Wednesday. His immediate challenge will be a high-pressure Manchester derby at Old Trafford next Saturday.
Carrick replaces Ruben Amorim, whose 14-month tenure ended last week following disappointing results. Darren Fletcher, who had stepped in as caretaker for the past two matches, has now returned to his role with the Under-18s.
Carrick Beats Rivals for Job and Faces Immediate Test
At 44, Carrick was chosen ahead of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy, highlighting the club’s trust in a familiar figure during a turbulent period.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅,” 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. “𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔.”
Carrick added that belief within the squad remains strong.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.”
Previous United Experience and Coaching Journey
This is not Carrick’s first spell in charge at Old Trafford. He previously oversaw three matches during the 2021–22 season, guiding United to wins over Villarreal and Arsenal and a draw against Chelsea. One of his boldest calls during that period was leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench at Stamford Bridge.
Carrick departed later that month when Ralf Rangnick was appointed interim boss and went on to manage Middlesbrough from October 2022. Under his leadership, Boro reached the Championship play-offs in 2023 and the Carabao Cup semi-finals the following season. He left the club last June after a 10th-place league finish.
A Serial Winner Faces a Crucial Mission
As a player, Carrick enjoyed enormous success at Manchester United. He was part of the 2008 Champions League-winning side and collected five Premier League titles before retiring in 2018. He later joined the club’s coaching staff, working under Jose Mourinho and Solskjaer.
Now, Carrick faces a demanding task. United currently sit seventh in the Premier League, three points off the top four, with hopes of salvaging the season resting heavily on his leadership.
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