Five games, four wins, one draw and a manager of the month award. It has been a remarkable first six weeks for Michael Carrick since being installed as Manchester United’s head coach until the end of the season.
The 44-year-old won the Manchester derby a matter of days after returning to the club where he spent 15-and-a-half years as a player and first-team coach, and hasn’t looked back since.
Arsenal were beaten at the Emirates, then Fulham and Tottenham at Old Trafford, before Benjamin Sesko’s late equaliser at West Ham kept Carrick’s unbeaten record intact and cemented United’s place in the top four ahead of Monday’s trip to Everton.
With only one competition and one match a week to focus on for the rest of Carrick’s contracted time in charge, they are now frontrunners to qualify for the Champions League next season, a year after the dismal 15th-place finish under Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim.
So what has changed under Carrick? How has he taken on a squad in such disarray after the chaos and contradiction of the Amorim era and knocked them into shape so quickly?
Daily Mail Sport has spoken to insiders behind the scenes at the club and analysed the team’s performances under their new boss to find out how he has done it.
Five games, four wins, one draw and a manager of the month award. It has been a remarkable start for Michael Carrick since being installed as Manchester United’s head coach
The 44-year-old won the Manchester derby a matter of days after returning to the club where he spent 15-and-a-half years as a player and first-team coach
Arsenal were beaten at the Emirates thanks to Matheus Cunha’s stunning goal, then Fulham and Tottenham at Old Trafford, before a late equaliser at West Ham kept the unbeaten run going
Mood shift
In some respects, Carrick replacing Amorim mirrors Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s return to United after Jose Mourinho had been sacked in 2018. Solskjaer was the antidote to Mourinho’s toxicity, and Carrick has been a breath of fresh after the negativity of Amorim’s 14 months in charge.
Amorim wasn’t as noxious as Mourinho, but the clouds had gathered over Old Trafford. His handling of Kobbie Mainoo was baffling, and he spoke publicly about the team and individual players in a way that went down badly inside the dressing room.
Carrick, on the other hand, has mastered the art of winning games on the pitch and saying very little off it, which has been music to the ears of the Old Trafford hierarchy.
Trapped in a tactical straitjacket inside Amorim’s back-three system, United’s play became uncertain and stodgy. They have been liberated under Carrick who has adopted a similarly positive approach as Solskjaer since beating his old friend to the head coach’s job last month.
When he first addressed the players, he spoke about the privilege of playing for Manchester United and the pride they should feel at wearing the shirt.
Although he comes across as being reserved in public, one former United star who played under Carrick during his three games in caretaker charge after Solskjaer was sacked in 2021 said that his half-time team talks were among the best he had heard in his career and inspired the players to go into battle for him against Villarreal, Chelsea and Arsenal.
More than four years on, the current United squad are feeling the benefit. The players are rejuvenated, and Mainoo in particular is a man reborn. There’s a feel-good factor around Old Trafford again.
While Amorim relied on the close-knit backroom team he brought from Portugal, Carrick has been more collaborative and willing to work with a wider staff in United’s analysis and data departments. From the start, he has spoken about trusting the expertise in the room.
Carrick brought back Kobbie Mainoo into the team immediately, following Ruben Amorim’s baffling handling of the United academy graduate
The players are rejuvenated, and there’s a feel-good factor around Old Trafford again
He has also trusted the players on the pitch, encouraging them to express themselves. Think of Bruno Fernandes’ audacious rabona cross and Casemiro’s no-look assist for Matheus Cunha against Tottenham, the long-range goals by Patrick Dorgu and Cunha at Arsenal, or Sesko’s wonderfully improvised finish against West Ham.
‘Michael came in with the right ideas of giving the players the responsibility, but also freedom to take responsibility on the pitch,’ said Fernandes, who has been outstanding under Carrick.
It has brought more fluid performances and three late goals reminiscent of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, and that is no coincidence. As well as the team spirit and positivity fostered by Carrick, he has also showed the same willingness to gamble as Ferguson – and so far it has paid off.
Backroom boys
A key part of the job talks with Carrick was the make-up of his backroom team, and the way in which it has clicked into place so quickly has been vital to his early success. Sources describe the strong dynamic between them, built on a good blend of skillsets and personalities.
If Carrick bringing in his old Middlesbrough assistant Jonathan Woodgate was no great surprise, nobody could have predicted Steve Holland’s appointment as his No 2.
Like Carrick, the former England and Chelsea coach had been working as a UEFA analyst this season, but the new United boss was already well aware of his qualities through his younger brother Graeme, who spent 15 years at the FA. Carrick and Holland are very hands-on in training, and there is more focus on individual work with the players than there was under Amorim.
Woodgate — whose ability to speak Spanish from his days at Real Madrid can come in handy — and Jonny Evans have been working with the centre backs, particularly the two younger ones, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven.
Evans returned as a first-team coach under caretaker Darren Fletcher in the wake of Amorim’s sacking, having quit as loans manager in December after just six months in the job.
Former England coach Steve Holland has a wealth of experience and has been very hands-on in training
Jonathan Woodgate, who speaks Spanish thanks to his days playing for Real Madrid, has been working with the centre backs
Jonny Evans was the brains behind Bryan Mbeumo scoring from a clever corner routine against Tottenham
The Northern Irishman, who ironically was on holiday in Barbados with the Carricks and Wayne Rooney’s family when he got the call, was the brains behind Bryan Mbeumo scoring from a clever corner routine against Tottenham.
It surprised many people who expected the former centre back to be more influential in defending corners and free-kicks than scoring from them. While Evans is not designated as the set-piece coach, he has taken the lead in that area.
Travis Binnion has stayed on the backroom team after stepping up from the Under 21s to assist Fletcher. Unsurprisingly, Binnion has been working closely with some of the players he knows from the academy, as well as other younger signings such as Sesko and Dorgu.
Change of plan
Daily Mail Sport revealed that Carrick made two key changes to the players’ routine as soon as he got the job.
The first was to shorten training sessions to make them sharper and more intense. The second was to tell the squad to report to Carrington 15 minutes later than usual for home games.
The plan is to delay the arrival of the team bus at Old Trafford until an hour and 45 minutes before kick-off. Carrick didn’t want the players hanging around any longer than that, and he felt there would be a better atmosphere at the stadium with more fans there to greet them.
It’s understood that he has also tweaked the schedule for away games as well. United used to arrive 90 minutes before kick-off, but that has now been put back by quarter of an hour to match the routine for home fixtures.
He also speaks to the players immediately after games, which was rarely Amorim’s way. They find him more approachable than his predecessor, who often appeared aloof.
United’s players are said to find Carrick more approachable than his predecessor Amorim, who often appeared aloof
One of the first changes Carrick made was to push back the squad’s arrival time at Old Trafford on matchday, partly so there would be more fans to greet them
Another key change is that players have been given the day off after games. Under Amorim, it was set aside as a recovery day at Carrington for warm-down sessions and treatment, but that has now been put back 24 hours.
Insiders say that the move has been particularly appreciated by the club’s foreign players, who often have family visiting from overseas for games, as it allows them to spend more time together afterwards.
Tactical triumph
Much of the progress made under Carrick has felt like a victory for common sense. No more agonising over a back three and taking players out of their comfort zone.
Carrick has reverted to the 4-2-3-1 system favoured by Solskjaer, Ten Hag and Fletcher. Round pegs in round holes. He has praised the players for embracing change but, in many ways, United have gone back to what they know best.
Aside from the draw at West Ham last time out, they have played fluid, attacking football in the best traditions of the club. There is more confidence and belief coursing through this team now.
Having Harry Maguire back in central defence and restoring Mainoo alongside Casemiro – thus allowing Fernandes to play in his more natural No 10 role – has been crucial. In the past, Casemiro and Mainoo had been isolated in the middle, but one of the reasons Carrick won his first game in the Manchester derby was by instructing wide men Amad Diallo and Dorgu to tuck in from the wings and help out.
The rest of the team was also under orders to flood the spaces when City attacked, resulting in Mainoo, Dorgu, Diallo and Fernandes running four of the top five distances out of possession by any United player this season.
As well as playing four at the back and stabilising the midfield, Carrick is getting the most of his attack by playing Mbeumo through the middle. The Cameroon international has scored three goals in five games.
Carrick’s tactical shift to a 4-2-3-1 has been particularly beneficial for midfielders Casemiro and Mainoo
Patrick Dorgu thunders in a brilliant goal during United’s impressive victory at the Emirates
United have kept their opponents guessing by interchanging Mbeumo with Fernandes and Matheus Cunha, most effectively against Spurs and Fulham. It has meant dropping Sesko after his three goals in two games under Fletcher, but the Slovenian has come on to score important late goals against Fulham and West Ham.
Benching Cunha against Arsenal also provoked a positive response when he produced a stunning winner at the Emirates.
It feels like United are playing with more intensity but, in fact, the stats from Carrick’s first five games compared to Amorim’s last five show that they are pressing less. Surprisingly, they have also had less possession, fewer shots on goal and a lower number of expected goals (xG), a metric which calculates how likely a player is to score from any given shot.
The key seems to be in capitalising on their opportunities with more goals scored, more shots on target, more passes completed and more tackles won. Defensively, United are stronger with fewer goals conceded and a lower xG against.
Backing the kids
Presence has always been a big thing for Carrick; being there to support and to send a message, whether it was turning up in Northern Ireland with Rooney as proud dads to their sons in an Under 16s tournament last summer, or as United head coach more recently.
Carrick, along with his entire backroom staff and director of football Jason Wilcox, made the trip to Leigh Sports Village, a journey Amorim never made during his tenure, to watch the Under 21s against Sporting Lisbon in the Premier League International Cup.
While Carrick did not address the players in the aftermath of that 3-2 win, his appearance created a buzz in the dressing room and in the stands for parents.
He was at Oxford United on Wednesday night to see the Under 18s reach the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup.
Carrick has made a point of attending youth-team games with his backroom staff, such as the Under 18s’ win over Oxford on Wednesday (pictured), much to the delight of players
The United boss shares a joke with Tyler Fletcher before handing the midfielder his United debut against Tottenham
It’s been a fantastic start to Carrick’s interim spell. Now he will be desperate to kick on and bring back Champions League football to Old Trafford
Amorim handed out debuts to rising stars like Shea Lacey and Jack Fletcher, but there was a growing sense among academy sources that many players began to feel like an afterthought. Carrick was determined to change that as he made sure to attend three academy games in the space of a week.
He gave up days off to be pitchside for an Under 18s match at Carrington, while making sure he had one-to-one talks with youngsters such as Tyler Fletcher, whom he gave a first-team debut against Tottenham. Jack Moorhouse, back from a loan at Leyton Orient, is now hoping to catch the eye in similar fashion.
Fletcher’s debut was a timely message to the young players, according to sources, and one that has gone a long way to reconnecting with the academy as the Carrick revolution continues.
