Michael Carrick hits out at one word used to describe Manchester United, gives passionate response

Michael Carrick returned to Manchester United this week after four years away from Old Trafford, but the newly appointed head coach still believes ‘magic’ exists around the club.

There has been a lot of uncertainty surrounding Manchester United in the past two weeks, with Ruben Amorim having been sacked and Darren Fletcher stepping in as caretaker head coach for two matches.

At least now we know who will be in the dugout for the remainder of the season, with Michael Carrick appointed head coach on Tuesday, just five days before the 198th Manchester derby.

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United go into the derby winless in four matches across all competitions, whereas Man City are looking to win as that would keep pressure on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

In his first pre-match press conference as United head coach, Carrick shrugged off Roy Keane’s criticism and stressed that he was focused on the job he had just been given at United.

Carrick knows that one way to quench criticism is by winning football matches, but he doesn’t have the easiest start to life in his new role. The game against City will be followed by a trip to Arsenal.

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Carrick spent 12 years as a United player before retiring and immediately joining Jose Mourinho’s backroom staff as a coach. He later joined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching set-up and became interim manager for a short period, only to leave before Ralf Rangnick’s spell as caretaker manager began.

That allowed Carrick to experience coaching away from United, leading him to become Middlesbrough manager for two-and-a-half years. They reached the play-offs once under Carrick but decided to part ways with the former England international at the end of last season.

Seven months later, Carrick is in the hot seat at Old Trafford with a temporary contract and the task to steady the ship at his former club.

During Carrick’s press conference, one journalist asked about what differences he has seen since returning to the club in a working capacity. There have been managers come and gone since then, a new ownership model with Sir Jim Ratcliffe as a minority stakeholder, but United fans are still protesting.

The journalist in question described United as being ‘soulless’ until Carrick picked up on that word and made it clear that he completely disagreed with the damning assessment.

“I certainly don’t think it’s soulless,” Carrick told reporters on Friday evening.

“I think there’s a magic around this place. I feel it almost straight away coming into the building, coming in and around it.

“I’ve obviously been around it for quite some time and then missed a little window, but I think there’s a magic around this place.

“You can’t help but feel that. Results and sometimes from the outside things look a little bit different, but it certainly doesn’t feel majorly different on the inside, I have to say that.

“Part of my role and the responsibility is shaping what we want to look like going forward as a group, and what happens on the pitch and the tactical side and the performances is one thing, but certainly the culture as well and how we think, how we act, how we behave, what it means to us to be here.

“That’s something that is part of my responsibility to spread in the right way.”

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Michael Carrick believes in the Man Utd squad

Although it’s far from ideal that United are sitting seventh in the Premier League, Carrick stresses that he has a lot of belief in the current group of players.

That suggests he thinks they are worthy of better results on the pitch, but there is only one way to prove that.

“Yeah, it’s a fresh start, and I’ve got a lot of belief in the group, individually, and collectively,” Carrick added.

“I’ve got a lot of belief in that, and as I’ve just said, confidence and a feeling, and things can go in a different direction very quickly, and I’ve got a lot of belief in the boys.

“I’m not going to tell you everything about how we’re going to do it because I’d be a bit silly to do that, but I think tactically and as a team, what we want to look like and things that we feel can help us and be hugely positive in what we can achieve.

“I think it’s so half-full, half-empty, it’s what players can’t do or the team can’t do, we actually forget what they can do, what they’re good at and believe in that and work on their strengths and feed off that energy to make you better.

“There’s a lot of players and a lot of teams in the world that can’t do things, but that doesn’t stop them being successful. So, we need to find that ingredient, and I fully believe we can do that.”

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