England icon Wayne Rooney has singled out both Luis Enrique and Thomas Tuchel as part of his defence of Manchester United interim head coach Michael Carrick.
Michael Carrick has three Premier League matches remaining in the 2025-26 campaign after he took charge of Manchester United as interim manager.
The 44-year-old former Middlesbrough manager has had a transformative impact at the Red Devils, including securing Champions League football for United.
Carrick returned to Old Trafford in January and took his place in the hot seat after Ineos sacked ex-Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim from his role as United manager.
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Wayne Rooney uses Michael Carrick’s Man Utd record and compares it with Luis Enrique and Thomas Tuchel
Wayne Rooney insisted that ex-Manchester United and England teammate Michael Carrick would rise to the occasion if he were appointed head coach permanently.
“It’s when rather than if I think,” he said on The Wayne Rooney show, as per BBC Sport.
“In my opinion, it wouldn’t be a bad decision. The one thing we’re hearing is that there’s Champions League football next season and more games, so how is he going to deal with that?
“He’s been in the Championship with Middlesbrough, where squad rotation is actually even more difficult than it is in the Premier League because normally you’ve got about 14 players with a bit of quality and the rest beyond that haven’t.”
Carrick has overseen 10 wins from his 14 Premier League matches in charge of the Red Devils amid securing Champions League qualification for Man Utd.
United legend Rooney argued that people would not bat a negative eye at Carrick’s record if it were Luis Enrique or Thomas Tuchel who produced those numbers.
“He’s been there, he knows how to do that. If you brought in a Luis Enrique or Thomas Tuchel and they won 10 of their first 14 games, you would say that’s incredible,” he continued.
“So, just because he’s a young, English manager, it means it’s not the right place to look in a lot of people’s eyes.”
Michael Carrick has now beaten Liverpool, City, Arsenal, Villa, and Chelsea – Do you want him to be the permanent manager?
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Wayne Rooney throws his full backing behind Michael Carrick to become the next permanent Man Utd manager
Rooney believes that Carrick is ready to succeed Ruben Amorim as the Red Devils’ seventh permanent head coach in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era of the club.
“Michael Carrick is a clever person, he’s a really good coach, and I think he can lead the team for however long he wants if he gets it right,” he added.
“It will be an interesting summer. For the first time in a long time, Manchester United seem like they have a bit of calmness around the whole place and that’s a good thing.”
Carrick has taken Man Utd to third place in the Premier League table after inheriting the Red Devils from a sixth-place standing under Amorim back in January.
United will now travel to the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon and the Red Devils will face Sunderland in their next Premier League outing.
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