Man Utd Confirm Appointment Of Carrick As Permanent Head Coach

Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Michael Carrick as their permanent head coach on a two-year contract.

The 44-year-old took interim charge after Ruben Amorim was sacked in January and has delivered Champions League qualification with an impressive run of form.

Former Middlesbrough boss Carrick has led United to a guaranteed third place in the Premier League after Sunday’s thrilling win over Nottingham Forest.

He has won 11 of his 16 matches in charge and has been named on a six-man shortlist for the Premier League’s manager of the season award.

No top-flight club has won more points than the 36 United have collected since Carrick’s appointment on 13 January.

After being recommended to the ownership by director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family gave the green light to complete Carrick’s appointment.

“From the moment that I arrived here 20 years ago, I felt the magic of Manchester United. Carrying the responsibility of leading our special football club fills me with immense pride,” said Carrick in a statement.

“Throughout the past five months, this group of players have shown they can reach the standards of resilience, togetherness and determination that we demand here.”

United were in disarray when Amorim was dismissed, with poor results and disagreements over the Portuguese’s tactics and formation leading to an increasingly strained relationship with club officials at the end of his 14-month tenure.

Carrick, who also had a three-game stint as United’s temporary boss after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal in 2021, has impressed with his work on and off the pitch.

There was no word in United’s statement on Carrick’s coaching team, which has played a big part in his success.

However, it is understood talks over their contracts are at an advanced stage and no issues are expected, with the experience of former England number two Steve Holland seen as particularly important.

United pledged to run a thorough recruitment process and while some candidates, including England boss Thomas Tuchel, ruled themselves out of the running by extending existing contracts, the club privately say that after a “thorough and discreet process” Carrick was ruled to be the best choice.

Of particular importance has been the attention he paid to the club’s academy teams, in stark contrast to Amorim, who only watched one youth match in person, when it was taking place on a pitch at United’s Carrington training ground within yards of his office.

United now say Wilcox was setting an ambitious target when he told the players in the wake of Amorim’s dismissal that the target was to qualify for the Champions League.

But Carrick achieved it with three games to spare, which played heavily in his favour, as did victories against Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool.