Michael Carrick believes clarity on the Manchester United head coach role is important now that Champions League football has been secured.
United intend to make a call on Carrick’s future at the end of the season, and have been considering alternative candidates to this point.
Carrick is comfortable at the situation, and insists the plan was always for club executives to make a decision at the end of the campaign, but the matter is moving into sharper focus now that United’s primary objective has been achieved.
“Listen, clarity is important,” Carrick told a press conference on Thursday. “It’s come the time of, at the end of the season where, I think we’ve finished strong, put ourselves in a good position, and obviously the situation of my role and what it looks like moving forward. I think it’s just the natural time.
“It was always spoken about towards the end of the season, if not the end of the season. So nothing has really changed, to be honest.”
Carrick said beating Liverpool to secure Champions League football had not altered the timeline yet. “It’s a matter of days ago and we have got eyes on finishing the season strongly as well,” he added.
“I understand the question, I understand the timing of it. But from my point of view, right at this stage it’s just putting the boys in a place to finish the season strongly and then, as I’ve said all along, I’m calm about it, it’ll get sorted out when it’s gonna get sorted out. It’s out of my hands, so we’ll see what happens.”
Carrick said he has treated the job like a long-term position all the way through, anyway.
“I’ve said from the start I’ve never approached a day here with any short-term decisions,” he said.
“Whether that is different to the outlook from others I don’t know. But from myself and the staff we’ve made decisions for the long-term, with the group and individual players, how we treat them and try to help develop them, so I don’t think we would change the approach about how we go about things.
“It might be for other people looking towards me, maybe us — whether that is players, supporters or media. I don’t know how that changes. Maybe we’ll get to see. From my point of view, I’ve gone about it in a way I feel right to do it.”
Carrick also laid out his message to his players for the final three matches.
“Pride, responsibility, playing for this great club,” he said. “Great supporters. Really good togetherness within the group as well and it’s about improving and evolving all the time.
“In terms of the Champions League, it’s a step. It’s a really good step. That’s not the end. That’s not the end at all. So we want to keep improving. We want to finish strong.”
When could United decide on Carrick?
The question to Carrick about clarity on his role was loaded, but he could have delicately side-stepped rather than embrace the idea. That suggests a certain level of urgency, even for a man as calm and patient as he is.
United have so far insisted they will wait until the end of the season to make their call, wishing to complete a thorough process including speaking to other candidates. They do not intend to be swayed by the noise outside, which this week featured several United players backing Carrick.
But whether that intention could be tested if United beat Sunderland well, with the club’s last home game, against Nottingham Forest, providing a potential platform for a feel-good announcement.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s regime has, though, avoided sentiment in an attempt to make logical decisions across the club, and holding back on Carrick until the final ball has been kicked at Brighton & Hove Albion, allowing all the data to be assessed, would be a continuation of that.
