Michael Carrick has been warned that his honeymoon period as Manchester United manager could be over, with former coach Rene Meulensteen fearing the demands of European football could prove a huge problem this season.
Carrick engineered seismic wins in the second half of last season after replacing the sacked Ruben Amorim on a caretaker basis, leading United to Champions League qualification. But Meulensteen believes that achievement could come back to bite him this time round.
Increased workload a major concern
Meulensteen, who was assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, said: "The number of games they're going to be playing is something completely different to last season."
"Michael is going to have to manage the squad extremely well, because last season they played once a week and had plenty of time for recovery and probably more days off as well," he added.
"Whereas this season will be completely different as the volume of games, training sessions, and recovery days will change drastically. Not only that, but the travel time between games, especially playing in Europe, will have a huge impact as well."
Defensive consistency key
Meulensteen also believes United's defensive consistency will be crucial if they are to cope with the demands of the season. He said: "I still think they're vulnerable at the back - and that's one thing Michael is going to have to sort out as soon as possible when the season starts."
"Finding a centre-back partnership that works, and getting some consistency in the back line will be key. Harry Maguire is coming off a good end to last season, but he needs some complimentary centre backs next to him," he continued.
"They have plenty of options at centre back in (Lisandro) Martinez, (Leny) Yoro, (Ayden) Heaven and even Luke Shaw can play in the position. But the problem has been that inconsistency at the back, which he will need to sort out as soon as possible."
