A former Manchester United star has opened up on the key issue Michael Carrick must address straight away
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 13: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Head Coach Michael Carrick of Manchester United poses at Carrington Training Ground on January 13, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Michael Carrick is the new Manchester United manager until the end of the season(Image: Ash Donelon, Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Rio Ferdinand says Michael Carrick’s first objective at Manchester United should be to restore the confidence of his players. Carrick was announced as the club’s new interim manager on Tuesday, taking over after Ruben Amorim’s sacking last week.
The former Red Devils midfielder, who had a brief unbeaten stint in charge as caretaker manager in 2021, will lead the side until the end of the season, following his own dismissal at Middlesbrough seven months ago.
Carrick faces a tough task in trying to secure Champions League qualification for United, who are currently seventh in the Premier League table and one point off fifth place. Despite Amorim guiding them to a respectable position compared to last season, it had still been a dismal campaign prior to his dismissal.
United have been woeful defensively, only conceding fewer goals than the bottom six, which has resulted in inconsistent results. Perhaps most importantly, the players by the end of Amorim’s 14-month reign were visibly playing within themselves, something club legend Ferdinand believes Carrick should address right away.
The ex-defender is of the view that Carrick should try to foster confidence by getting results, potentially playing a defensive and less expansive style initially.
He said on Rio Ferdinand Presents: “I think he’s got to instil confidence back into this team. I think it doesn’t matter what players you’ve got or how good they are, they’ll never give the best version of themselves if they’re lacking confidence.
“To do that, there’s things he’s going to have to do behind the scenes to bring them together and to make them start believing in themselves through training and creating patterns. But then it’s down to results.
“They’ve got to find a way of getting results. If that, for the moment, is playing a different style of football that suits this group, perhaps more counter-attacking to build confidence… Then you can start moulding the team in time into a new shape and the way you want it to be.”
Rio Ferdinand speaks on Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast
Rio Ferdinand says Carrick must restore the players' confidence(Image: Rio Ferdinand Presents)
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He added: “Without the confidence right now it will be really difficult, almost impossible, to build any momentum with this team and get us into a respectable position at the end of the season.”
Carrick, a five-time Premier League and one-time Champions League winner with United, will be well aware of what a confident and positive dressing room looks like, having learned first hand from the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.
Carrick will now prepare the team for two daunting tasks, beginning with the visit of Manchester City at the weekend. He is expected to deviate from the controversial 3-4-3 formation implemented by Amorim, both in that game and against league leaders Arsenal the following weekend.
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