Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has courted controversy with his comments on interim boss Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger training with Manchester United
Bastian Schweinsteiger has passed comment on his former Manchester United team-mate Michael Carrick(Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Michael Carrick’s former Manchester United team-mate Bastian Schweinsteiger has offered a positive take on the interim manager’s start at Old Trafford. His comments come after some negative feedback from another of Carrick’s old colleagues, Paul Scholes.
Schweinsteiger, who played with Carrick for a little under two years, posed for a photo pointing at his fellow midfielder on screen during German TV coverage of United’s weekend victory over Aston Villa. “DNA” was his straightforward caption, seemingly alluding to the boss’ connection with the club for whom he played more than 450 games.
Scholes, in contrast, was critical of United’s recent displays under Carrick. He recognised results have picked up since the former Middlesbrough boss took over from Ruben Amorim but remained unconvinced by the performances.
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“Michael has definitely got something special about him... cos United have been c**p last 4 games. Night,” Scholes wrote on Instagram after United lost to 10-man Newcastle, though he since clarified those comments.
"It was in no way intended to be offensive towards Michael,” Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and the Football. “Michael is one of the nicest people you will ever meet in football. He'd be the last person you'd want to offend.
"I messaged Michael anyway. I went straight to Michael and said, 'Look, I was never intending to upset you' and I don't think I needed to say that anyway.
"And he told me he wasn't upset by it. I think people have just took it differently from what was meant. The only thing I was saying, was that I don't think they played that well the last four games and he's still managing to get results.”
Casemiro with Michael Carrick during Man United vs Aston Villa
Carrick's United team beat Aston Villa on Sunday(Image: Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Scholes said the message he was trying to convey was that teams need a bit of luck to succeed in the Premier League, pointing to past comments from legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson to the same effect. He suggested it is testament to Carrick’s impact that the team was still getting results when not playing well.
United claimed another vital three points on Sunday. Their 3-1 victory over Aston Villa kept them third and took them three points clear of Unai Emery’s fourth-placed side while also increasing the gap to Liverpool and Chelsea just below.
“I was quite happy at half-time, to be honest,” Carrick said, referring to the goalless first 45 minutes. “I thought it was just a tight game. I was not expecting it to be an edge-of-your-seat, all-guns-blazing performance.
“In the second half, we had the players to make the difference. There was only a little spell before they scored where we lost their shape a bit."