“Interim” may not have been in the job title, but it was very much implied. No rocking of any boats was therefore the assumption from Michael Carrick’s five-month stint at Manchester United.
With senior Old Trafford officials already compiling a list of marquee managerial names to follow, the task for Carrick was simple: be better than the worst head coach in the club’s non-wartime history for a few months before quietly moving aside.
Yet, despite the lack of long-term incentive, Carrick has undertaken the role with the joie de vivre of a revolutionary. He looks intent on making lasting change to this stuttering, malfunctioning giant.
The i Paper has spoken to those behind the scenes at the club’s revamped Carrington training base and discovered the remarkable opening pair of results against Manchester City and champions elect Arsenal were no fluke.
Sources close to the players have talked of a figure with a calm authority around Carrington. Carrick “coaches like he plays” one said – making it look far easier than it is, with a class and composure others could only wish to possess in such a scrutinised position.
His predecessor, Ruben Amorim, had helped rejuvenate the atmosphere this season. Despite results remaining below par, the mood around the camp had markedly improved. After a positive pre-season where the players became closer and unlikely friendships formed, the new, state-of-the-art training facility helped provide space for psychological nourishment.
However, you don’t beat Pep Guardiola’s City so convincingly before securing a first away league win at Arsenal in almost a decade, without making some changes.
Insiders have described how the energy around training immediately changed upon Carrick’s arrival, with the players impressed by the level of detail the former midfielder and his team of assistants went into.
There is now more focus on individual work as opposed to Amorim’s attempts to force his charges into that beloved 3-4-3 system.
Training is shorter, more intense, increasing the levels of focus. Carrick’s new-look team have what sources describe as a great blend of skillsets and experiences, with Steve Holland’s savoir faire crucial to helping guide the new team. A “strong dynamic” is developing.
It says much about Carrick that one of the big question marks around him at Middlesbrough has already been addressed with Holland’s appointment. As results deteriorated in his second season at the Riverside, influential voices at Boro urged him to appoint an experienced assistant to help him with “in-game” decisions, which started to become a problem. Carrick’s side had lost more points from winning positions than any other team in the Championship.
Carrick demurred, preferring to retain his brother Graeme, who had been an academy coach at Newcastle. While his loyalty was admirable, sources believe it hurt him in the long run and the speed with which the experienced Holland was added to his coaching staff suggests Carrick has had time to reflect.
Tactically he had good ideas. He bristled when people put a label on his formation – which looked suspiciously like 4-2-3-1 – but there was innovation there, encouraging his left-sided forward to drop into pockets of space when in possession. That worked very well during his stunning start, which saw Boro rise from the bottom of the Championship to the play-offs.
And he certainly departed with credit in the bank for owner Steve Gibson, who still believes he has the makings of a world-class coach. Carrick is credited with developing Morgan Rogers during his time at Boro as well as Hayden Hackney, who is now arguably the best player in the Championship – he was viewed as collegiate, calm and unaffected by the outside noise. Useful for his current role.
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Carrick and his team have been keen to reiterate just how privileged his players are to be at a club of United’s grandeur, urging them to soak up every minute. Something easily forgotten as the club has fallen on such hard times.
Results like the previous two have certainly helped with that. Carrick has also rammed home the point that a club like United shouldn’t be getting carried away by such victories either.
There have even been tweaks to the matchday routine, such as allowing players to arrive 30 minutes later, to avoid them having more time to kill pre-match. They may not bring league titles back, but these little changes are helping Carrick to stamp his authority and make his mark. He is here for an impactful time, not a long time. As it stands…
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