Mike Phelan speaks exclusively to the Manchester Evening News
Mike Phelan speaks exclusively to the Manchester Evening News
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Few people are as well-placed as Mike Phelan to assess Michael Carrick's reign so far at Manchester United and how the club's former player and coach can get things back on track at Old Trafford.
Phelan, himself a former United player, was No.2 to Sir Alex Ferguson between 2008 and 2013, having been a first-team coach for the seven years prior to that, and then returned to the club in December 2018 to assist Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, when Carrick was on the coaching staff at Carrington.
His time with Ferguson yielded three Premier League titles, two League Cups, a Club World Cup and a place in the Champions League final, while he still maintains United were on the right track before Solskjaer was dismissed in November 2021 - on which more later - and he knows Carrick has the personality to deal with the pressure now he faces the first real crisis point of his time in charge.