Michael Carrick insists he hasn’t been unsettled by Manchester United discussing the head coach’s job with other candidates.
Although Carrick is the firm favourite to be appointed on a full-time basis after clinching Champions League qualification, United bosses are in no rush to make a final decision and will weigh up all their options over the next few weeks.
But Carrick dismissed the suggestion that he might find the situation uncomfortable, saying: ‘No, genuinely not. Whether it’s discussed or not discussed, it hasn’t bothered me.
‘It hasn’t changed how I go about it. I’ve been confident in the work that we’re doing and working with the players and leading the club, so it literally hasn’t had any effect on me at all no.
‘I think it’s pretty obvious it’s going to be a process, obviously from the outset in terms of finding someone to fill the position in the end.’
Michael Carrick has responded to rumours Man United are talking to other managers
Casemiro and Matheus Cunha are the latest United players to say publicly that Carrick deserves to keep the job after guiding his team to 10 wins in 14 games ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sunderland.
‘I think as a coach or manager, you’re only a leader of a group if people want to follow you,’ added Carrick. ‘It’s not a thing that you can talk about so much, it’s actions that prove that.
‘So when I feel the support and I feel that the boys are all connected – not so much with me, but showing it together on the pitch – that’s the most important thing.
‘They’ve clearly shown that in different ways, and that’s the most pleasing thing. It’s satisfying when you can see them putting it together as a team.’
Those opposed to Carrick getting the full-time job point to the dip in results after United gave interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a three-year contract in 2019.
‘A lot happened before in all sorts of different ways, whether it’s interim getting the job, not getting the job, whether it’s having success or not success,’ said Carrick, who was a first-team coach under Solskjaer.
‘So I think the past is the past. I’ve learned from the past, I’ve learned from my own experiences. It’s mixed throughout history and football, so to compare other things and how it’s gone before, I think it doesn’t necessarily give you a good gauge of what’s going on now and what needs to happen next.
Matheus Cunha (left) and Casemiro (right) have publicly endorsed Carrick’s permanent appointment
‘That’s not me personally, I just think that’s the situation we’re in right now.’
Despite having to wait for a final decision, Carrick admits it’s inevitable he has thought ahead to how he would take the club forward next season.
‘Of course it’s something that has crossed my mind; leaving it in a place at the end of the season where if it was me or somebody else, it’s there to take even further,’ he said.
‘I think that’s a natural process to be crossing your mind. There’s always things that maybe we can do a little bit better, or we’ll improve on, or maybe go in a different direction. That’s just part of evolving.’
