Man Utd are closing in on Champions League - how has Carrick done it?
When Manchester United 's director of football Jason Wilcox addressed the club's players after Ruben Amorim's dismissal on 5 January and told them the aim was Champions League qualification, he was sending out a message. After all, internally in their financial planning, and externally in communication with supporters, the stated target from the previous summer had been a return to European competition, most likely through the Europa League. Wilcox was choosing to reinforce a point that just because Amorim had been sacked and a caretaker boss was being sought, it did not mean the season was being written off.
The hierarchy making the big decisions might have changed, but the chaos Ralf Rangnick's short tenure descended into when he was picked to guide United to the end of the season following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal in November 2021 were fresh in the memory. Wilcox wanted focus and determination, not apathy and a lack of accountability. United were not at rock bottom when Carrick replaced Darren Fletcher, who had spent two games as interim boss, on 13 January.
One defeat in nine in the Premier League. One point off fifth spot. The problem was they had just drawn against three relegation candidates - Wolves , Leeds and Burnley , and their next two games were against title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal .
As United were only six points ahead of Bournemouth , who were 15th, the expectation was by the end of January, Carrick would be presiding over a team that had dropped back into the bottom half of the table. Instead, when United resume their league programme against Leeds at Old Trafford on 13 April, they will do so knowing Champions League qualification is within reach. Assuming England gets five spots , four wins and a draw from their final seven games will be enough to take United back into Europe's elite club competition after a two-season absence.
If they remain third, it would be only their fifth top-three finish in 13 seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Carrick continues to make case for permanent Man Utd role Tactics, transfers and turmoil - inside the fall of Amorim Carrick followed Fletcher's lead in ditching Amorim's three at the back formation, pushed skipper Bruno Fernandes into a more forward role, recalled Kobbie Mainoo to play alongside Casemiro and stuck with it. Across his 10 games in charge, Carrick has made just six changes to his starting line-up.