Michael Carrick made daring Man Utd ‘bottle up’ coaching determination earlier than beautiful Arsenal
Michael Carrick has made a stunning start as Manchester United interim boss but Wayne Rooney has shared how the Red Devils manager stopped training before the Arsenal win
Michael Carrick decided to stop Manchester United’s training session before beating Arsenal(Image: Ash Donelon, Manchester United via Getty Images)
Michael Carrick pulled his players off the training ground in the lead-up to Manchester United’s triumph over Arsenal.
Carrick has enjoyed a flawless beginning to his tenure as United boss, following up the 2-0 derby victory against Manchester City with a breathtaking 3-2 success away to the Premier League frontrunners. United have been revitalised under Carrick’s stewardship as caretaker boss until the season’s end, securing their finest two performances of the campaign.
Carrick started the same team that defeated City for the journey to north London and was rewarded with another outstanding result and performance. Strikes from Bryan Mbeumo, Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha saw them become the first team to claim victory at the Emirates Stadium this season.
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United climbed to fourth place and boast a tremendous wave of optimism surrounding the squad for the first time in ages. That atmosphere was present before the Arsenal clash, according to Wayne Rooney, who spoke with his former colleague Carrick the previous day.
Rooney revealed on Match of the Day: “I actually saw him on Saturday morning and he said to me he actually had to stop training because it was that good! He wanted to bottle it up and make sure they had that performance for the game the following day, which obviously we’ve seen with it. He’s done superb and I’m absolutely delighted for him.”
Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim and has ditched the 3-4-2-1 formation for a 4-2-3-1 setup. The change has paid off instantly, putting Carrick in the running for the full-time job come season’s end.
“He brings a level of calmness, which hasn’t been there for quite a while now,” Rooney said. “When you look at Michael Carrick you think he’s a quiet lad, [but] he’s studied the game, he understands the game and he’s gone into that job knowing it’s a difficult one to do and he’s brought the basics back to Manchester United – players working hard, getting behind the ball, running for each other, working for each other and they’re more confident.
“He’s an unbelievable communicator. I think for the best managers you need to do is make sure every player is happy and wants to play for you. The last two weeks have really shown that – Cunha has come off the bench twice and made an impact with the assist for Mason Mount and the goal against Arsenal.
“He’s given belief into those players. Sometimes with young coaches, and I think with Ruben Amorim when he was there, they’re guilty of overcomplicating things, giving the players too much information. I think Michael has gone in and reminded them of the basics.”
When questioned if he could be the right man for the job in the long run, Rooney responded: “Of course he can. Michael Carrick has got an opportunity to show everyone that he’s capable of that job. Of course he has to have a consistency about his results and performances, but what we’ve seen is that he’s more than capable of doing it.
“And if it carries on then there will be a massive pressure on Manchester United board to put him in at the end of the season. I know they’ve been there before with Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer], but I think this feels different.”
