Michael Carrick’s impressive start to his time as Manchester United manager has seen the team finish in the top four, but the new head coach is urging his players to build on their Arsenal win and doesn’t count himself out.
Michael Carrick takes Manchester United into the top four (Image: Getty Images)
Manager Michael Carrick told his Manchester United players to “use their emotion and confidence” after sitting out the game against Arsenal, but he is not obsessed with hopes of finishing in the top four.
The Red Devils showed quality and character with a come-from-behind win at the Emirates before Matheus Cunha scored the winning goal late on to take them to the top of the Premier League and further realize Carrick’s hopes of securing a long-term job at Old Trafford.
United looked like a team reborn after a dire period under Ruben Amorim, but Carrick, who missed out on Manchester City the week before, hopes defeating the country’s top two sides will give his players confidence going into the game.
His mission is to return to the Champions League, scoring six goals in his first two games to move them into the top four ahead of the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool, but the man in the dugout doesn’t make predictions this early.
“From our perspective, we know we’re moving on to the next game. We’ve only been together for less than two weeks, so we’re just continuing to develop good habits, really, good routines and good habits,” Carrick said after the win. “I don’t think we can look too far ahead.”
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“We’re definitely not like that anyway. It’s a big week with the Fulham game and the game coming up. We’ll get the result and finish it where it ends. That’s the obvious thing to do, but if you look too far ahead you can come back and really hurt. So we’ve been taking this week week by week, game by game and we’re definitely going to continue to do that.”
“But we have to go with it and use our emotions. We have to use our energy and we have to use our confidence. We have to have enough humility to understand how we were able to achieve these two big results. It’s not something that comes easily, so we have to keep at it and bottle it up and use it again.”
The club’s former players have enjoyed a perfect start to their tenure (Image: Justin Setterfield, Getty Images)
Only once this season have United highlighted their struggles with back-to-back wins, but Carrick’s arrival has revitalized a struggling group.
Outside of the top three, including Aston Villa, the remaining teams chasing European football remain largely inconsistent. Liverpool lost to Buamas at the weekend, continuing a five-game winless streak, but Chelsea are recovering after a change of manager. Newcastle also remains unstable.
Despite their storied history, United have only finished in the top four once in the last four seasons, but a return to the Champions League in Erik ten Hag’s first season would be a great season.
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