Michael Carrick reflected on his time at Middlesbrough after his appointment as Manchester United boss
08:00, 14 Jan 2026
Former Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick
Former Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick(Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Michael Carrick admits he made mistakes at Middlesbrough that he will learn from as he is appointed as the new head coach at Manchester United.
Carrick replaces Ruben Amorim at the helm of Manchester United after a long association with the club as a player and a coach. He has signed a deal until the end of the season.
It is the head coach’s first management role since being sacked by Boro at the end of last season, following a disappointing tenth-place finish. And asked about what he’s learned in his last three years away from Old Trafford, he made his first public comments about Boro since his exit was announced.
He said: “I’ve learned loads. Taking a step away from this [Manchester United] - this was all I knew for so long. To go out and live on my own in the North East, going to Middlesbrough and being away from the family.
“It was a great experience. I learned an awful lot. I obviously made a lot of mistakes, but from that learned my strengths. There are things I’ve looked back at and feel I could have done a bit better with certain things.
“That’s life and that’s part of learning and becoming better over time. It was the same as being a player. It was a good experience. Then it was nice to have a bit of time to reflect and let things sink in. Now, I feel in a really good place.
“I feel in a good place to be here and it feels very natural. I understand the job and what it entails and the responsibility I’ve got, but I do feel I’ve learned an awful lot. Thanks to Middlesbrough for allowing me to do that.
“I had some really good times there, and now I feel I’m in a really strong place to move forward and hopefully be successful here.”
In joining Manchester United, Carrick has built a new coaching team to assist him at Old Trafford, with former Boro boss and his assistant at the Riverside Jonathan Woodgate reuniting with him. They’re joined by former England assistant Steve Holland, as well as Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion.
On his backroom team and why he insisted on Woodgate being a part of it, he said: “It’s probably the most important thing, to pull on different characters and different experiences.
“Steve’s got an unbelievable wealth of experience, also at Chelsea in terms of going through similar situations to this. Changeover of manager and coach, dealing with that and staying successful.
“Jonathan is loyal, very knowledgeable and the perfect balance to me. He challenges and pushes me, he has done for the last three years and he’ll keep doing that.
“This club is about producing young players and Trav is going to have a massive part in that. Jonny has come through this football club and gets it.
“He’s got a massive amount of experience to pass on to the players, so I think there’s a real balance of personalities, characters, knowledge and experience.”
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