Michael Carrick held his first Manchester United press conferenceplaceholder image
Michael Carrick held his first Manchester United press conference | MUTV
Michael Carrick will take charge of his first match as Man Utd head coach against Manchester City this weekend.
Carrick was appointed as the club's new head coach on Tuesday evening, a week after the club had sacked Ruben Amorim. Darren Fletcher was placed in interim charge of the men's first team while they searched for a temporary boss to lead them for the rest of the season.
United still plan to hire a permanent successor to Amorim at the end of the season and will use the next few months to evaluate all candidates for the role. Carrick could earn the job himself if he does enough to impress over the next 17 matches, though he insists he is fully focused on the short-term role, rather than any long-term stay at Old Trafford.
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What United hierarchy told Carrick
Michael Carrick met with the Manchester United hierarchy when they held their latest ExCo meeting at the club's Carrington training complex on Thursday. Jim Ratcliffe was in attendance, along with Joel and Avram Glazer, Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada.
It is understood that the club discussed a range of internal matters and also took the opportunity to meet with the new head coach after he was appointed earlier in the week. Carrick will hope to bring stability for the remainder of the season and will work closely with football director Wilcox and chief executive Berrada during his time at the club.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, Carrick was asked about the conversations he held with club chiefs this week and said they had wished him 'the very best' ahead of facing Man City this weekend. "I’ve spoken to Jason an awful lot, and Omar as well," Carrick told reporters. "The ownership group were in and around it, it was nice to see them and meet them yesterday. We were able to share a few things, they wished all the very best.”
It is understood United will target Champions League qualification under Carrick, however the new head coach insisted that no specific target had been set for him to achieve. He said: "Not in terms of it has to be this way or that way. We want to be near the top of the league, we’ve got to take some small steps towards that. European football would be a step forward."
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