Michael Carrick has agreed to become Manchester United’s caretaker head coach for the rest of the season and he may copy one of Erik ten Hag’s plans at Old Trafford.
Manchester United parted ways with Rúben Amorim last Monday after a worrying meeting between the head coach and Jason Wilcox in the days prior.
In the aftermath, Darren Fletcher was placed in temporary charge, overseeing a draw with Burnley in the Premier League and an FA Cup exit at the hands of Brighton.
With the Manchester derby looming, the club are now preparing to install Michael Carrick as caretaker manager until the end of the season.
The former United midfielder will be tasked with restoring momentum at Old Trafford and steering the side back into the race for a top-five league finish.
Carrick may copy Ten Hag plan with ‘exciting’ star
United have struggled late in games this season and failed to get over the line. Part of the reason for that has been the lack of quality on the bench.
Joshua Zirkzee has often been the only attacking player on the bench in games and he isn’t the type of profile that often makes the difference in the final 20 minutes of games.
Fletcher used Shea Lacey off the bench in both of his games in charge as interim boss and the 18-year-old provided a spark, even if he was sent off for two bookings against Brighton.
During Erik ten Hag’s first year in charge, Alejandro Garnacho was that raw and exciting talent that came off the bench and made the difference for United in a lot of games.
While Lacey is a different profile to the Argentine, he could be the player that Carrick turns to in order to make an impact off the bench.
Lacey gets fans off their seats
Starting minutes will be hard to come by for Lacey going forward. United are now in just one competition for the rest of the season and Amad and Bryan Mbeumo have returned from AFCON.
But a player at his stage of development does not need to be starting every week and those 15 to 20 minute cameos could be the best thing for him and the club for the next six months.
Read More: Why Darren Fletcher rejected Michael Carrick coaching role as Man Utd backroom staff confirmed
Fletcher described the teenager as ‘exciting’ and that is something that fans agree with. When Lacey got the ball against Burnley and Brighton, supporters were on their feet. That was what happened when Garnacho came through as well.
There is something underrated about young, unproven talent who have nothing to lose and Carrick should be looking to use that for the rest of the season.
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