Michael Carrick puts emotions to one side to rally Man United for crucial Villarreal task

Carrick is an interim to an interim with Man United having indicated that they want to appoint a short-term manager until the summer when Solskjaer’s replacement can be named

Tue, 23 Nov, 2021 - 06:00

Ian Whittell

Michael Carrick spoke defiantly of having clear plans of what he wants to do with Manchester United in the crucial Champions League game at Villarreal on Tuesday night although, without being unkind to the inexperienced coach, it was not immediately clear whether or not that is a good thing.

The former United midfielder was appointed as a short-term interim in the wake of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s emotionally-trying, if inevitable, sacking on Sunday.

More accurately, Carrick is an interim to an interim with United having indicated that they want to appoint a short-term manager until the summer when Solskjaer’s replacement — and a fifth permanent manager in the eight years since Alex Ferguson retired — can be named.

Mauricio Pochettino, PSG’s former Tottenham manager, attempted to bypass that tortuous process with leaked reports from his camp yesterday indicating that he would be open to an approach.

It was not immediately clear what, if any, interest United may harbour in the Argentinian who is, in any case, not expected to last in Paris beyond the end of the season.

Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers also remains a viable candidate, despite his obvious link with United’s hated rivals Liverpool, although that is another possible deal that could take time, and a sizeable compensation package, to facilitate.

All of which left Carrick in charge in Spain tonight for a game which United simply cannot afford to lose if they wish to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League.

Despite currently leading the group on goal difference, a United defeat tonight and a victory for Atalanta against Young Boys, would see them fall to third and set up an anxious final day group game against the Swiss team.

The size of the task did not appear lost on Carrick but nor, too, was the fact that one of the reasons cited for Solskjaer’s downfall was a lack of experience and acumen among his coaching staff.

When, arguably, the greatest player of all time in Cristiano Ronaldo was added to the United ranks in the summer, a rookie coaching staff, that has too often been exposed as naive and slow to react, in both preparation and game management, was always a recipe for disaster.

“I have clear plans in my own mind of what we want to do and how we want to go about it and I’m looking forward to seeing it on the pitch,” said Carrick. “It’s a challenge, of course it is.

“The initial reaction yesterday, coming to terms with the situation, but quite quickly you have to focus. There’s a responsibility here. I don’t take that lightly in any way.

“I’m just throwing myself into doing everything I can. Of course, it’s a limited time but it’s a challenge I’m relishing at the moment.

“It’s a huge responsibility but I’m really looking forward to it. I know it’s not what we wanted but it’s a fantastic group — they’ve proved that before and they’ll prove it again.” Still, Carrick’s loyalty to Solskjaer was unquestioned, as was the fact that as he addressed the press yesterday, the demise of his friend was still clearly a raw issue.

But, having been asked to take charge of the side by Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, when he arrived at the Carrington training base on Sunday, Carrick insisted that, following an emotional 24 hours, his focus was now fully on Villarreal.

“It was a sad day initially for me, and I wish Ole all the best,” said Carrick. “But on the flipside football is football and it’s business as usual today and we have a game to prepare for tomorrow and it’s a privilege for me to now sit in this position.

“I understand the responsibility that comes with that and now the focus is on moving forward quickly, it’s something that this club does very well, it’s what this club has done very well historically and now we are very much looking forward to the game tomorrow and going there with a real positive mind and attitude.”

The equally unproven Kieran McKenna and veteran Mike Phelan also remain on the United coaching staff, for the time being at least, which is news that will not exactly fill the club’s supporters with optimism.

But, in the meantime, the blame game continued at Old Trafford yesterday with senior players, led by captain Harry Maguire, keen to shoulder their share of the responsibility for their spectacular recent failures.

“I think in football you go through ups and downs, you look at the players now at this club and you would probably speak to them and they would say it’s the toughest time of their career at club level, so we know it hasn’t been good enough,” said the centre-back.

“The recent performances haven’t been good enough we haven’t been delivering individually or collectively, and when you are not doing it collectively the results pay the price and it has snowballed from one thing to another.

“And we have to take huge responsibility for that and we have to find something within ourselves, within the group to find the focus and the mentality to get the result we need for this club.”

While Solskjaer’s limitations as a manager were exposed on multiple occasions towards the end of his reign — most spectacularly in home defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City — Maguire and his teammates had clearly not covered themselves in glory, either.

David de Gea led the mea culpas in the wake of the 4-1 defeat at Watford on Saturday that eventually proved one loss too many for the popular Solskjaer but, as Maguire confirmed in a glowing tribute, at least the Norwegians’ reputation — as a man, if not a manager — remains intact.

“The manager came in and spoke to us on Sunday. It was an emotional day,” he said. “Everyone has a huge amount of respect for Ole and what he has done for the club.

“He is a legend of the club and will remain a legend of the club. I don’t want to go into too much depth about what he said but he wished us well.

“He said we need to get back on track, and get focused on this game against Villarreal and go into it in a positive mindset and one thing he did say was that he would be supporting us and wants us to win every game which shows the values of the man.”