Jose Mourinho gave Michael Carrick a role on his coaching staff when the Manchester United legend retired in 2017 and has kept him in the top job until the end of this season.
Jose Mourinho is ‘surprised’ by Manchester United’s decision (Image: Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)
Jose Mourinho has harshly criticized Manchester United after the club appointed Michael Carrick as their new interim manager. Carrick, 44, was given the job on a temporary basis following the Red Devils’ sacking of Ruben Amorim earlier this month.
His only previous managerial experience was at Middlesbrough, where he spent just under three years and reached the Championship play-offs in his first season. Carrick was also an assistant at United under Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
After retiring in the summer of 2018, the former midfielder was welcomed into Mourinho’s coaching staff. They worked together for six months before Mourinho was sacked.
Despite his links with Carrick, Benfica’s current manager admitted he was “surprised” by United’s decision to appoint him. Mourinho insists the most high-profile jobs should be given to more experienced managers.
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“It’s surprising to me that a coach with no history, no job, has the opportunity to coach the most important team in the world. This is the real surprise,” the 62-year-old said after Benfica lost 2-0 away to Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday.
“When (AC) Milan gets (Max) Allegri, when Juventus gets (Luciano) Spalletti, when Roma gets (Gian Piero) Gasperini, these are no surprises.”
Carrick has until May to convince United executives that he is a long-term man. The five-time Premier League winner got off to a perfect start on Saturday.
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Michael Carrick was part of Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff (Image: GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
United put in a great performance, defeating Manchester City 2-0, and hopes of finishing in the top five were high. Carrick’s next assignment is a trip to league leaders Arsenal, where he was particularly successful in his three games as caretaker manager following Solskjaer’s sacking in 2021.
After the game, Carrick declared: “It was a very special day, but I’m not getting carried away.” “This is one game and it’s very important that we don’t get carried away. It needs to be a regular feeling and we need to be able to consistently get that level of performance.”
“It’s a great result and there’s an element of soaking it up and enjoying it, but it’s never enough and it’s never going to be enough. Looking at the result, we’ve had three days to work on it and we’ve got to keep building on it.”
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