Michael Carrick is not being fooled into thinking Manchester United have “cracked it” after his dream start continued by beating a Tottenham side that captain Cristian Romero apologised to after his costly red card.
A year that began with Ruben Amorim’s abrupt exit and some underwhelming results has been transformed by the appointment of the Red Devils’ former midfielder, captain and coach for the remainder of the campaign.
Carrick followed up wins against Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham with a 2-0 triumph against his former club Spurs on Saturday lunchtime, when Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes wrapped up a deserved win against the 10-man visitors at Old Trafford.
It was the first time in two years that United have won four Premier League games in a row and left them fourth on 44 points – two points more than they managed last season.
“It’s difficult to comment in terms of what’s changed,” Ruben Amorim’s successor Carrick said. “I’m pleased with the buy-in, connection and everyone’s invested in it. I think that goes a long way.
“At certain times cans see the game flow in different ways and you can look very different, good or bad.
“But I think being in a real good emotional place helps you and, again, that proved to be the case.
“It was different today. We had to manage the game, control the game, and show patience and good quality, but there’s different ways to do it.
“The four games we’ve had have all slightly looked different, but we’re not getting carried away. I’m not sitting here thinking ‘everything’s great, we’ve cracked it’. There’s a lot of work to do so, and I’m fully aware of that.”
Carrick was full of praise for star United skipper Fernandes on a day when Tottenham captain’s recklessness damaged his side.
Thomas Frank defended Romero as he stressed he “clearly tried to go for the ball” when he caught Casemiro on the ankle and received a 29th minute red card.
“He was sorry for the incident,” the Spurs boss said. “He apologised to his team-mates in the changing room.
“I think he’s one of the most important players. When he performs at his top, he’s driving the team.”
This was Romero’s sixth red card in all competitions since making his Tottenham debut in August 2021 – more than any other Premier League player has received during that period.
That statistic surprised Frank, who says he has no regrets about naming him captain and will not consider that position at the end of a week when he questioned Spurs’ “disgraceful” squad depth on social media.
Romero will start a four-match ban as Spurs host Newcastle on Tuesday, when Destiny Udogie could also be absent for injury-hit Spurs as they seek to win a first Premier League game of 2026.
“We haven’t won enough in the Premier League,” Frank said after overseeing a seventh successive top-flight match without a win. “We’re just coming on the back end of four good games, where we also showed a lot of resilience.
“Before that, we also did it, but we didn’t get enough of the results where we turned around second half, so I think there’s still a lot to hang the hat on in terms of resilience.
“But, of course, the performances need to be backed up by doing a little bit more and keep doing the right things because then the results will turn.”
