Michael Carrick did one thing in a press convention that Amorim and ten Hag would by no means do
Michael Carrick’s style and manner as the Red Devils go into the new season has been analysed after a big interview.
The Daily Star’s sister paper the Manchester Evening News asked it’s Red Devils reporter Tyrone Marshall for some telling insight. United had won their second trophy of pre-season the previous night and Michael Carrick walked into the conference room at Carton House hotel with a spring in his step.
For a man accustomed to winning the biggest prizes possible as a player at Old Trafford, the Snapdragon Cup and the Boyle Sports Cup don’t seem likely to be the source of his good mood. Instead, it is news from home earlier that day. Daughter Louise passed her A-Levels, and the proud dad is so pleased he even squeezes a mention of it into a 25-minute chat with journalists who have hopped over the Irish Sea to cover United’s second training camp of the year in County Kildare.
Michael Carrick is looking to make further inroads in the transfer market(Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)
Even accounting for that news, there is optimism within Carrick. United have had a settled pre-season, jetting in and out around Europe and spending their weeks at Carrington, and it has been a positive and productive change.
The mood within the squad is good and once again the new additions have added something to the dynamic. Carrick speaks warmly of the impact of Karl Darlow and Youri Tielemans on the group, but reserves the most praise for Andrey Santos. It’s almost like the proud dad is making a reappearance.
The topic of the transfer window is arguably the only time Carrick seems particularly keen to make a point. There are numerous questions and the 45-year-old is forthright. “We need more, we want more.” On four occasions, he says United have to “keep pushing”.
In a summer when elite clubs are thinking nothing of blowing £100m+ on players, United are shopping in a different market. That makes Carrick’s job more difficult, but he will never complain publicly. He does at least say they might have to break the bank eventually to get the right player.
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick signs a fans shirt ahead of a pre season match at Croke Park, Dublin(Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)
You get the feeling that he knows greater investment will be required to make that final leap, but at least he is comfortable with the expectations of managing this football club. After a series of managers who talked United down, he is talking them back up.
He believes it was actually more of a challenge to earn the dressing room’s respect when he joined as a player 20 years ago than it is now to be the figurehead of that dressing room and to try to end an era of underperformance that dates back to the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
“I have to say, coming in to start with as a player was probably the biggest challenge. I’m not saying this is easier, but it was the biggest challenge. It was new. It was a massive step up, coming into a whole different environment of something that I didn’t know,” he said.
“So that was a huge challenge of adapting to that, and then obviously being here for so long, in different ways, it kind of becomes a bit more of a natural environment and you kind of get used to being around it and it becomes normal in some ways.”
This job never really looked normal to Erik ten Hag or Ruben Amorim, but Carrick carries a greater assurance, despite a coaching CV that only includes just under three years in the Championship at Middlesbrough.
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick ahead of a pre season match at Croke Park(Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)
It is a cliché to say he understands the club, but he does. A year ago, United had just finished 15th in the Premier League, and they struggled under Amorim in the first half of last season.
Carrick began to turn the tanker around and although talk of challenging for the title feels a little premature, a veteran of 464 appearances, five league titles and a Champions League, he knows better than to try and pretend United should be anything but contenders.
“We’ve definitely got the potential to achieve something really special,” is a better soundbite than “the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United.”
It is particularly insightful to hear Carrick talk about his players when he is told several of them have talked up the possibility of a big season and even winning that 21st league title. There is no attempt to cool expectations or relieve pressure. He looks delighted to hear they are aiming high.
“For the players to believe that, it puts us all in a good place. I think you’ve got to have the belief, you’ve got to be going into the season thinking we can achieve something special,” he said.
“Don’t be going into a season thinking this could be a struggle. We’ve got to set out to really achieve something. So for the players to believe that, first and foremost, my words are words, I sit here and tell you anything, but they’ve got to go out there and do it and feel it.”
Time will tell whether this is a hostage to fortune or a sign that, with a strong spirit and a couple of more astute signings, the sky really is the limit this season.
