Michael Carrick has been making his presence well known at Manchester United, ever since he took over the reins from the sacked Ruben Amorim
Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick celebrates after the Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham
Michael Carrick has won each of his three games at the helm(Image: Getty Images)
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Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag's rule of making Manchester United players train the day after matches has been torn up by Michael Carrick. The former England midfielder is enjoying the perfect start to life as United interim manager.
His second temporary spell has began with an emphatic 2-0 home win over Manchester City, a dramatic 3-2 triumph away to Arsenal and a last-minute win over Fulham. Carrick, 44, has made many alterations since he was given the reins until the end of the campaign.
He has already overhauled Amorim's stodgy 3-4-3 formation and brought United academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo back into the starting eleven. But there are many other rules Amorim introduced in his mission to rule the club with an iron fist.
One thing Amorim and Ten Hag had in common was their insistence to train the day after matches. Both former United bosses were adamant players who participated in a match had to report to the training ground for a recovery session.
This has been thrown out by Carrick who has instead signed off on allocated days off in the 24 hours after a match. Instead, the recovery days have been moved to two days after the final whistle of a match.
It's another example of Carrick ushering out Amorim's old ways and bringing in his own rules and beliefs. He may have been in situ for barely a month, but he has already reversed five bans the ex-Sporting Lisbon manager imposed.
Amorim forbade players from taking holidays during international breaks, banned food from being taken into the dressing room and even prevented his own staff from giving United stars complex tactical instructions.
Head Coach Michael Carrick of Manchester United in action during a first team training session at Carrington Training Ground on January 14, 2026 in Manchester, England
Carrick has lifted the mood at United(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
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He has also made training sessions shorter - but increased the intensity of drills - and also altered the time his team arrive for matches. It's fair to say his changes are already bearing fruit.
United's last ditch victory over Fulham lifted them into the top four. They are one point ahead of Chelsea and are only six points away from second placed Manchester City.
Carrick's side host Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford this weekend before travelling to face West Ham on Tuesday February 10. With United out of all the cup competitions and not in Europe, Carrick has a clear path for an assault on the top four.
At present, he's not expected to be handed the position on a full-time. However, if he keeps on putting together victories, it will be harder and harder to not hand him the opportunity on a full-time basis.
Ruben Amorim, Manager of Manchester United, looks on at half time during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford on December 30, 2025 in Manchester, England.
Amorim was sacked at the start of the year(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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Carrick's former team-mate Ben Foster even believes there is a slim chance he will be named as the next United boss at the end of the season. The former goalkeeper, speaking on his Fozcast podcast, said: "The weight of the badge is phenomenal for Manchester United, but then a new manager comes in, somebody that they know, somebody that they trust and they get on with as a friend.
"That's the kind of the situation that they're in at the minute with Carrick, it's all friendly. He's only the interim and it's not full time. I would worry that if it goes full time, then that changes that dynamic a little bit.
"We've seen it before with plenty of teams, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and it changes the dynamic a little bit. But he's so far beaten Man City and Arsenal. What a start and he's got 15 games left for Manchester United now. If he wins ten of those 15 games, you've got to give him the job."
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