Michael Carrick says he feels at home as Manchester United’s head coach after a flying start, but understands that the club won’t make ‘kneejerk’ decisions over a full-time appointment.
Since being placed in charge until the end of the season, Carrick has beaten Manchester City, Arsenal, and Fulham to put United firmly in the top four in the Premier League table.
Another win over Tottenham at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime will only add to a growing belief that Carrick could land the job on a permanent basis in the summer.
The 44-year-old acknowledged that he could be in the frame, but insisted it is too early for the club to make any judgements based on a handful of results.
‘I’m loving what I’m doing,’ said Carrick. ‘I’m here, and I feel at home here, but I fully understand the situation, so I’m not getting too carried away.
‘Nothing has changed. To be honest, it’s not going to change what I do or how I feel about it. I think I’m fully aware of the role I’m doing here and the responsibility I’ve got.
Michael Carrick has said ‘nothing has changed’ regarding his interim status as Man United head coach
United have won all three of their games since Carrick arrived at the helm late last month
‘We want to be successful. I want the club to be successful beyond the end of the season: if that’s me, if that’s somebody else. At this stage, I can’t control that, and we’ll see what happens.
‘But it’s certainly about trying to improve the team and keep making Manchester United stronger and improving all the time. So results over a short period time don’t change that.
‘If they have changed that there is something wrong. It can’t be so kneejerk whether it’s really good or whether there’s a few issues we need to solve. It’s steady progress really.
‘Football can twist and turn just as quick, so we have got to keep level and focus on what we need to do.’
Carrick’s backroom team have also earned praise for their contribution to the winning start after he brought in former England and Chelsea No.2 Steve Holland and his old Middlesbrough assistant Jonathan Woodgate to work alongside United coaches Jonny Evans, Travis Binnion and Craig Mawson.
The United boss revealed that he spoke to his younger brother Graeme, who spent 15 years at the FA, before deciding to approach Holland.
‘I think when talks were progressing and it looked like I might be coming in here, I was spending some time thinking about what the staff might look like and having conversations with my brother, as I do all the time, of what it might look like,’ added Carrick.
Carrick feels ‘at home’ back at United and is yet to lose a game across his two stints as interim boss
‘We ended up mentioning Steve. We knew him from the FA and I have come across Steve a number of times, fully aware of his experience and his quality as a coach as well as a person. It ticked a lot of boxes, and that kind of just it went from there.
‘I spoke to Steve and we clicked straight away. As with the rest of the staff, to be honest, with Jonathan, Trav and Craig.
‘I think there’s been a real good balance and a good connection between us. It feels like we’ve been together much longer than just these three weeks.’
