Michael Carrick has revealed that Ole Gunnar Solskjær has been fully supportive of his appointment as Manchester United's interim head coach. The pair, who were teammates at United during the 2006-07 season, share a close friendship, and Solskjær was also interviewed for the role.
Carrick was a member of Solskjær's coaching staff during the Norwegian's tenure as caretaker and permanent manager from December 2018 to November 2021. After Solskjær was sacked, Carrick managed United for three games but left when Ralf Rangnick took over, citing loyalty to Solskjær as a factor.
Speaking about their recent conversation, Carrick said: 'Yes, I spoke to him. I'm close, we've been through a lot together, so he's been fully supportive as you'd expect. He's some man and I respect him an awful lot. He wished us all the best and he was happy that we got the right result against Manchester City.'
When asked if he would seek advice from Solskjær, Carrick added: 'With friendships, you have conversations. I've got a lot of friends in places that I can kind of pick on if I need to be. I'm not one that bothers a lot of people, to be honest. But he's certainly there if I ever need him.'
Carrick's first match in charge saw United beat Manchester City at Old Trafford with a proactive approach. Ahead of Sunday's trip to Arsenal, he hinted at a different strategy. 'Every game's different. Even if you come in half-time and you've had a good performance for 45 minutes, I'm never one that likes to say: 'Same again.' Because it's never, ever the same again. So it won't be a kind of copy and paste,' he said.
On Patrick Dorgu, who scored United's second against City as a wide attacker, Carrick noted: 'He can do both. He was immense last week: his work rate and the way he played the position. I wouldn't want to pin him down.'
