New Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick has revealed he has taken soundings from Sir Alex Ferguson as he prepares to jump into frontline management for the first time.
Carrick has ended an 11-month hiatus since leaving Manchester United to take over a Boro side sitting just a point above the Championship drop zone. It is a fascinating first mission for a man who has bided his time waiting for the right opportunity – he takes over a club with an owner in Steve Gibson who is famed for giving young managers a chance but has also burned through nine managers in the last nine years.
Flanked by the club’s director of football Kieran Scott and chief executive Neil Bausor at his introductory press conference, Carrick pledged to be his “own man” and said he was not at the Riverside for a “football fairytale” but to work hard and drag the club away from the relegation zone.
There was no mention of career aims or eventually returning to Old Trafford, just a resolution to restore Middlesbrough’s connection to its people, pull them away from relegation trouble and play “attractive, attacking but most importantly winning football”.
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“I spoke to Sir Alex a few times. I have spoken to him more since I stopped playing over the last year, didn’t want to get too close when I was a player,” he said.
“He said quite a bit. He said a lot about being your own man and sticking to your beliefs. He’s done it for so many young managers over such a long time. He has such a respect in the game so anything he does say you take on board.
“He has a pride and care about ex-players progressing to being coaches. I really appreciate the advice he’s given me. He’s a huge influence on my career, I thought I knew football until I got to United – he taught me a different way of living, playing the game and it stemmed from the boss.”
Would he replicate Sir Alex’s unique approach to man management?
“Do I look like an angry Scot?” he joked. “If needs be, I could dish out (the hairdryer treatment). I’m fine with that. I have got a real stubborn streak and a real drive so if that’s the case, so be it. I had to do it at certain times as a player and that’s just how it is as a coach.
“It’s not about being a nice guy with a happy face. You need a mix and the right thing for the right situation so whatever is going to get the best out of the players, that’s my job to do.”
Carrick’s CV includes stints working on the staff of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Jose Mourinho, both of whom he took things from.
“The biggest thing was Jose had the faith in me to give me an important role to see how he worked and how he saw the game,” he said.
“It’s the little things – how he spotted things in players, not necessarily the obvious things. He was really smart and bright at seeing how players would turn out.”
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