Manchester United’s season was in free fall when Michael Carrick walked through the door in January. After seven wins from nine games, the club are third in the Premier League, within reach of the Champions League and daring to dream again.
The transformation was so striking that club legend Wayne Rooney had seen enough.
“He should 100% get the job,” Rooney told the BBC after United’s 3-1 win against Aston Villa on Sunday. “We have seen the players play better, more together as a team and they look like a very strong team. Why would you change?”
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It’s a question United’s hierarchy will have to answer before the end of the season.
From six to three
Carrick was brought in as a temporary fix after Ruben Amorim became the sixth permanent manager or head coach to be axed at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. The assignment was simple: stop the rot.
Everything but simple followed. United climbed from sixth to third, picking up wins against Manchester City and Arsenal along the way. A club that felt like it was falling apart suddenly looked organised, motivated and hard to beat.
Carrick refused to be drawn into the speculation surrounding his future.
“It’s just noise when you listen to it. It doesn’t affect me one bit,” he said after the Villa win. “I’m in this position right now and I’m doing the best I can. Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen.”
Know what is needed
There is an argument to be made that Carrick was always better placed than most to steady the ship at Old Trafford. He won five Premier League titles and the Champions League as a player at the club and later served as assistant to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before moving into management.
“I know what it takes to succeed here. My focus now is to help the players achieve the standards we expect at this incredible club,” Carrick said on his appointment.
He fulfilled this promise. Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and the summer signing Benjamin Sesko all flourished while academy product Kobbie Mainoo was revived after being largely marginalized within Amorim. The football was effective, entertaining at times and the mood at the club changed considerably.
The case against
But handing Carrick the job permanently would not be without risk. His only previous head coaching role was at second-tier Middlesbrough, where he spent three years between 2022 and 2025 without earning promotion to the Premier League.
United have already gone down this path. Solskjaer arrived as an iconic former player, enjoyed a flying start that included a famous Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain, but ultimately left without a trophy after almost three years in charge.
There are also questions about how Carrick’s current squad would cope with a greater match load. Key figures such as Casemiro and Harry Maguire are thriving at a one-game-a-week pace, with United currently out of all cup competitions. How he will hold up throughout the season with the potential addition of Champions League football remains unknown.
A decade of decline, one chance for renewal
United tried what Ferguson left. Serial winners Van Gaal and Mourinho. Established top managers in Moyes and Ten Hag. Title-winning coaches from overseas in Amorim. None have come close to restoring the club’s former status.
Carrick is the latest throwback to a more glorious era and strengthens his case with each passing week.
If United can maintain this form until May, sporting director Jason Wilcox will be very hard pressed to look elsewhere.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
March 16, 2026 12:05 PM IST
