Michael Carrick says Manchester United are not soulless and there is magic at Carrington | Football news
Michael Carrick has refuted suggestions Manchester United are a soulless club and claims they are back to “magic” at the club’s Carrington training complex.
The former United midfielder returned to the club – where he also previously held an assistant coaching role and was caretaker manager in 2021 – this week after replacing Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese left the club after 14 months in charge at Old Trafford.
Carrick will be head coach for United’s final 17 matches of the current Premier League season, starting with a Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime, live on Aerial sports.
The former Middlesbrough boss is the 11th different person to take the hot seat at Old Trafford since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. Another change in leadership has added to fans’ dissatisfaction with protests planned for next month.
Asked if he thought the club was now soulless in its current crisis, Carrick replied: “I certainly don’t think it’s soulless. I think there’s a magic around this place. I feel it and I feel at home straight away, walking into the building.
“The results and sometimes things from the outside look a little different, but it certainly doesn’t look much different on the inside.
“Part of my role and my responsibility is to shape what we want to look like in the future as a group. What happens on the pitch, tactically and performances is one thing, but certainly the culture too and the way we think, how we act, how we behave, what it means for us to be here – that’s something that is part of my responsibility to propagate in the right way.”
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Harry Maguire has admitted he has been impressed by Michael Carrick and his coaching staff as they prepare for Saturday’s Manchester derby.
Carrick adds that the mood of the players has been positive and the training ground is in the right place.
“I’ve been back in this role for three days and I haven’t seen anything that’s really a red flag. The players have been really good.
“[The players are] I’m willing to listen, I want to learn, I want to do better, I want to do better for the club, I want to perform better. That’s the feeling I have.
“The support staff and everyone are desperate to do well and we need to channel that.
“Culture is something that happens every day. It’s not something I sit here and talk about – a few words here and there and it sounds good.
“It’s how you carry yourself and what you do on a daily basis. It’s something we have to build on but certainly at the moment I think it’s a good place and the training ground has been a very good place.
Saturday January 17 11:00 a.m.
Kick-off at 12:30 p.m.
“We need to make Old Trafford an even better place with the help of the fans as well. That’s the magic of what we’re trying to do.”
