Michael Carrick explained how he reacted when Manchester United told him they wanted to appoint him as interim manager to replace Ruben Amorim
Michael Carrick has disclosed the moment he discovered Manchester United wished to appoint him on an interim basis and described his response. The 44-year-old emerged as one of the contenders to replace Ruben Amorim after Darren Fletcher had taken charge of two matches.
Former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had also been linked with an Old Trafford comeback as caretaker manager, but selecting Carrick instead has already proved fruitful. United remain undefeated in their previous five fixtures, claiming four victories and a draw.
Prior to learning he had been selected for the temporary position, Carrick was carrying on with his life as usual – until he received a text message whilst driving on the motorway.
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“I was actually in the car, I was driving on the way up to Newcastle at the time when the message came through,” he told BBC Sport. “It was a nice thing to hear – of course it was – but I was quite calm about it actually.
“I don’t know why, but it just felt right. And that’s not me being arrogant or blase in any way – it just felt quite normal.
“You get a good feeling from it, but I’ve been here for so long and experienced so much that probably, at some point, I was always hoping in the back of my mind that the opportunity would come along – and thankfully it has.”
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His response, unsurprisingly, was one of delight. “Listen, I was delighted obviously,” the former midfielder added.
“To be at this club is special, so I’m not playing it down, but it wasn’t the case that I came off the phone shouting and screaming and celebrating on the motorway or anything.
“I just called my wife and said, ‘this is what’s happened, this is where we’re at’.”
Before landing the role at Old Trafford, Carrick had a three-season stint as manager of Championship team Middlesbrough from 2022 to 2025, steering them from potential relegation to promotion hopefuls.
United are anticipated to name a new permanent manager in the summer, but if he continues to revitalise the squad, he could well be considered for the position on a full-time basis.
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