Michael Carrick has insisted that he is not unsettled by Manchester United's discussions with other candidates for the head coach position. Despite being the firm favourite to be appointed on a full-time basis after securing Champions League qualification, United's hierarchy is in no rush to make a final decision and will evaluate all options over the coming weeks.
Carrick's Composure
Carrick dismissed any suggestion that the situation might be uncomfortable, stating: 'No, genuinely not. Whether it's discussed or not discussed, it hasn't bothered me. It hasn't changed how I go about it. I've been confident in the work that we're doing and working with the players and leading the club, so it literally hasn't had any effect on me at all.' He acknowledged that the process of finding a permanent manager would take time, saying, 'I think it's pretty obvious it's going to be a process, obviously from the outset in terms of finding someone to fill the position in the end.'
Player Support
Casemiro and Matheus Cunha are the latest United players to publicly endorse Carrick, citing his impressive record of 10 wins in 14 games ahead of Saturday's trip to Sunderland. Carrick emphasized the importance of player backing, adding: 'I think as a coach or manager, you're only a leader of a group if people want to follow you. It's not a thing that you can talk about so much, it's actions that prove that. So when I feel the support and I feel that the boys are all connected – not so much with me, but showing it together on the pitch – that's the most important thing.'
Learning from the Past
Critics have pointed to the dip in results after United gave interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a three-year contract in 2019. Carrick, who was a first-team coach under Solskjaer, responded: 'A lot happened before in all sorts of different ways, whether it's interim getting the job, not getting the job, whether it's having success or not success. So I think the past is the past. I've learned from the past, I've learned from my own experiences. It's mixed throughout history and football, so to compare other things and how it's gone before, I think it doesn't necessarily give you a good gauge of what's going on now and what needs to happen next.'
Future Plans
Despite the uncertainty, Carrick admitted he has thought about how he would take the club forward next season. 'Of course it's something that has crossed my mind; leaving it in a place at the end of the season where if it was me or somebody else, it's there to take even further,' he said. 'I think that's a natural process to be crossing your mind. There's always things that maybe we can do a little bit better, or we'll improve on, or maybe go in a different direction. That's just part of evolving.'
