Michael Carrick has opened up on his recent meeting with those at the top of Manchester United following his appointment as head coach.
Manchester United are still looking for their first victory of 2026 as they prepare to host local rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
The new year has brought little relief for United, who have been held to a 1-1 draw by 16th-placed Leeds United and a 2-2 draw by 19th-placed Burnley, before being knocked out of the FA Cup at home by Brighton.
The disappointing run was compounded by off-field change, with former Head Coach Rúben Amorim dismissed midway through the period.
Ahead of the Manchester derby, United have placed Michael Carrick in charge until the end of the season, with Saturday’s clash marking his first game at the helm.
Carrick previously stepped into the role on a temporary basis in November 2021, overseeing victories against Arsenal and Villarreal, alongside a 1-1 draw with then league leaders Chelsea.
Carrick outlines expectations for the season
It has been widely reported that United now feel the expectation for the rest of the season is for the club to return to the Champions League, with the squad full of talented players and not too far off the top Premier League spots.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of the City tie, Carrick spoke with the media to outline the expectations he had been told during his spell in charge of the side.
When asked if the leadership team had outlined a specific goal, the 44-year-old said: “No, no, not in terms of it has to be this way or that way. I mean, it’s like I said, we want to be in the top league, we want to be top of the league.
“I mean, that’s pretty obvious to say, but we’ve got to take some small steps towards that and European football, obviously, would be a step forward and we’ve got to keep pushing.”
Carrick explains exchange with Glazers
Earlier this week, the majority shareholders, Joel and Avram Glazer, flew into Manchester to visit the club’s new training facilities, which opened in the summer, and sit down with the rest of the club’s leadership team.
Minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada, and Director of Football Jason Wilcox were all present alongside Carrick.
“I’ve spoken to Jason an awful lot and worked closely with Jason and Omar as well over the last few days,” Carrick shared when asked what conversations with the leadership team have been like. “We’ve spoken a lot, as you’d imagine.
“And yeah, the owners, the ownership group, were around it. It was nice to see them [the Glazers] and meet them yesterday and have a small chat with them.
“They’re taking care of business in some ways, because we were able to share a few things, so I wished us all the very best, and it was good to see them.”
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