Michael Carrick becomes Manchester United’s head coach after being sacked by Middlesbrough last summer.
Darren Fletcher stepped in for two matches as interim head coach after Manchester United sacked Ruben Amorim last week.
United drew 2-2 with Burnley at Turf Moor in the first game, but there was more disappointment for Fletcher when the Red Devils crashed out of the FA Cup third round after losing 2-1 against Brighton.
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Michael Carrick has reached an agreement to become United’s head coach for the remainder of the season. He will be tasked with qualifying for the European spots as United sit seventh in the Premier League.
Carrick’s first game in charge is the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Sunday. A win would give the former midfielder a flying start ahead of another tricky game against fellow title contenders Arsenal.
Michael Carrick against Norwich City
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Carrick was one of four contenders for the United interim role. The others included Fletcher, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
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The former England international previously served as interim manager at United, following Solskjaer’s dismissal in 2021. He took charge of three games – winning two and drawing one.
Carrick left United after his short spell as interim, with Ralf Rangnick coming in to take charge for the rest of the season.
This meant Carrick could move on and get a full-time manager job elsewhere, taking over at Middlesbrough in October 2022.
Middlesbrough were struggling in the Championship when Carrick arrived, but he won 16 of his opening 23 games to lift the side from 21st to the play-offs.
In Carrick’s second season at the Riverside Stadium, he guided the team to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
After finishing four points adrift of the play-offs in his third season, Carrick was sacked. It ended after a poor run of form with his Middlesbrough side losing four out of their last six games in the Championship.
Patience ran out at Middlesbrough after their league position worsened in each of Carrick’s three seasons:
2022/23: Finished 4th before losing in the play-off semi-finals
2023/24: Finished 8th
2024/25: Finished 10th
Carrick will be hoping to build on his unbeaten record as United caretaker head coach when Man City visit Old Trafford on Sunday.
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What has Michael Carrick done since Middlesborough dismissal?
Since his sacking, Carrick spent six months working as a UEFA technical observer and pundit for Match of the Day.
The 44-year-old has been linked with other Premier League jobs in recent months, including West Ham.
The next challenge for Carrick is to steady the ship at United, after a topsy-turvy first half of the campaign under Amorim.
Carrick will look to take advantage of the experiences he had working under Jose Mourinho and Solskjaer at United, as well as his two and a half year stint in the Championship.
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