MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Michael Carrick was set to take over as Manchester United’s interim manager on Tuesday after the Premier League giants turned to former players to rebuild the squad. season of explosions.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Carrick arrived at the club’s Carrington training ground on Tuesday morning and was scheduled to sign a contract until the end of the season.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not yet been formally completed.
Carrick joins the club after a trophy-laden career at Old Trafford, where he won five Premier League titles and the Champions League. Retirement of Ruben Amorim last week. Sources say former England assistant coach Steve Holland will join Carrick’s coaching team.
Carrick, a former midfielder who also worked as assistant coach at United, achieved an unbeaten record. 3 game spells He was appointed on an interim basis after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in 2021. He was selected ahead of Solskjaer, who also interviewed for the role.
Carrick’s only other managerial experience was with Second Division Middlesbrough from 2022 to 2025.
By appointing Carrick in a short-term role, United are giving themselves time to find Amorim’s long-term replacement. was fired last week 14 months after joining the company.
Iconic former striker Wayne Rooney said Carrick would command the respect of his players.
“Michael is a very smart guy and he did really well last time,” Rooney said on his podcast.
Carrick’s priority is to qualify for the Champions League after Sunday’s defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup third round – United’s first game in the competition – condemned the 20-time English champions to a second successive titleless season.
United also lost their first game in the English League Cup to fourth-tier Grimsby, leaving them seventh in the Premier League.
As well as Carrick and Solskjaer, former United players Darren Fletcher and Ruud van Nistelrooy were also considered. Fletcher has been in charge of two games since Amorim’s departure, a league draw with Burnley and a cup defeat to Brighton. He is expected to return to his role as a youth coach.
Carrick’s first two games in charge will be tough – at home to second-placed Manchester City on Saturday and away to first-placed Arsenal the following weekend.
That would be a big step up from him. His only full-time managerial experience came in the Championship with Middlesbrough, where he was unable to secure promotion to the Premier League and his reign ended there.
Carrick’s time at the helm of United is unlikely to last beyond the end of the season. The club’s bosses are looking for a seventh permanent manager or coach after more than a decade of slump since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Amorim becomes the latest player to fail to return the club to the top of English football, joining David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Solskjær and Erik ten Hag.
Carrick was part of Ferguson’s great side that won the Premier League and Champions League double in 2008, winning a total of 12 major trophies in his 12 years at United.
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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