Sam Allardyce and Rene Meulensteen both feel that the “very intelligent” Michael Carrick is capable of doing one thing during his reign at Manchester United.
Michael Carrick now has the responsibility to see out the remainder of the Red Devils’ 2025-26 Premier League season after his stunning return to Old Trafford.
Does Michael Carrick REALLY have traits like Carlo Ancelotti? Do you see it?!
🔥Hot Take of the Week
The 44-year-old Manchester United legend beat both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy to become the club’s interim head coach until the end of the season.
Man Utd struck an agreement with Carrick on Monday and the Red Devils rolled out the red carpet on Tuesday with the formal announcement of his appointment.
Carrick took charge of the United first-team squad and the Red Devils boss held his first training session with the players at the Carrington complex on Wednesday.
Rene Meulensteen’s analysis of Michael Carrick and what the Man Utd interim head coach must do
Michael Carrick’s reign as Manchester United interim manager begins with a massive Premier League match against Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The former Man Utd and England midfielder has been out of management since his reign at Championship club Middlesbrough ended with his sacking last summer.
Speaking to Sam Allardyce, Rene Meulensteen admitted that he is familiar with Carrick’s approach because his son worked under him at Middlesbrough.
“I know Michael and I rate him highly,” he said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.
“He was a very intelligent player, and I think he did a really good job at Middlesbrough. My son worked for him there as an analyst.”
What ONE WORD describes your feelings ahead of the Manchester Derby this weekend?
Carrick’s first test: The noisy neighbours 🤐🏙️
The 61-year-old former United first-team coach insisted that a key part of Carrick’s reign with the Red Devils will be how adaptable he is to the demands ahead of him.
“He’ll know what to do,” Meulensteen added.
“He’ll have to go in there and be really clear to the players. Coaching is going to be vital.
“They need to start getting clean sheets. The way they defend has to be coached, whatever the formation is.
“I trust him with his ability and intelligence to get that right. I don’t think it’s too difficult to fix, in my opinion.
“Up front, United have plenty of power in terms of creating chances and scoring goals.”
Sam Allardyce thinks the same way as Rene Meulensteen over one thing Michael Carrick has to pull off at Man Utd
Ruben Amorim was sacked as Man Utd manager last week and the Red Devils are now expected to pivot away from the 40-year-old former Sporting CP coach’s tactics.
Allardyce, much like Meulensteen, insisted that Carrick must be adaptable with his approach in a way that Ruben Amorim was reluctant to do so at Man Utd.
7 Managers, 1 Win…. Ruben Amorim broke the streak – can Michael Carrick make it two manager derby debut victories in a row?
Which Manchester derby was the most memorable for you, good or bad?
“Somebody, probably his number two, needs to look after him. Somebody needs to have his back,” he said.
“The staff who work alongside him have just as important a job as he does to create an atmosphere and recreate the culture of Manchester United to try and get them back on track.
“That’s a huge task, but the selection of who works alongside him, he can’t take that decision lightly.”
Allardyce added: “He also needs to be adaptable. If they’re not adaptable, it’s going to be an issue. Unfortunately, Man United [aren’t] as good as everybody else anymore.”
The Manchester derby clash between Premier League sides United and Manchester City is slated for a 12:30pm kick-off time in the UK on Saturday.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
