Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney has insisted that Michael Carrick is recognising why the youth academy is a “massive part” of the club.
Wayne Rooney has openly backed Michael Carrick to become the next permanent Manchester United manager after former Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim was axed.
Carrick has received major praise for his immediate impact at Old Trafford after the Ineos regime installed him as interim head coach until the end of the season.
Rooney touched on former United and England teammate Carrick on his podcast and singled out the culture shift that he observed at the Premier League club.
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Wayne Rooney on Michael Carrick’s presentation, the Man Utd culture and the importance of the youth academy
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney insisted that the optics are clear of Michael Carrick’s reign with the tracksuit look that he has adopted at times.
“Yeah, it’s a big part of the club and the culture of the football club and now that’s been lost over the last, I don’t know how many years, 10 years, etc,” he said on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.
“So what Michael is doing, he’s slowly bringing that back. I was speaking to him the other day, actually, and every time I’ve seen him since he started the job, he’s in his Man United track suit.
“I think he’s saving money. He’s saving money. He doesn’t have to buy any clothes. He’s enchanted [with his look].”
Alongside setting the tone at the club through Carrick’s visual presentation, Rooney added that the United interim boss has been focused on the youth academy set-up.
“Changing your clothes, but it shows, obviously, his boys [are] in the academy as well,” he added.
“He’s in my lad’s team, but he’s there, he’s watching games, he’s studying.
“The academy has always been a massive part of Man United. I think it’s been a player from the academy in every squad since the club was formed.
“So, it’s a huge part of the academy and he’s gradually bringing that back.”
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Wayne Rooney thinks Michael Carrick’s approach to the Man Utd academy is night and day different from past managers
Ruben Amorim faced major criticism before he was axed by the Premier League over his handling of Man Utd talent emerging from the youth academy at Old Trafford.
However, Rooney believes that Carrick is taking the exact opposite approach to the likes of Amorim and other former Man Utd managers with the academy system.
“Because it was in a mess [the academy], to be honest, because the managers who come in didn’t really care,” he explained.
“They just wanted the first team to do well and pushed that [the academy] aside. So, it’s nice to see that come back and then you can judge what he’s doing on the pitch with the first team and they’re doing well.
“So, I don’t think there’s a need to change him.”
Carrick has only seven Premier League matches left in his interim head coach reign, with Man Utd hosting Leeds United at Old Trafford on Monday evening.
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