- Bruno Fernandes on Carrick’s impact
- Praises Manchester United coach for short stint
- Highlights key difference that led to change
Bruno Fernandes has boldly claimed that Michael Carrick showed signs of being a top manager in his first interim stint as Manchester United head coach in 2021.
The Red Devils captain insisted that, while the Englishman took charge of just three matches, he still made an impact on the players. He felt he showed he would not be an assistant for long and was ready to start his own journey.
‘Something More’ – Fernandes on Carrick
Speaking to Wayne Rooney on BBC Sport, Fernandes said the way Carrick prepared the team for the matches against Chelsea, Arsenal and Villarreal in 2021 was a clear sign that he was ready to step to a major role:
“I knew him from the time of Ole, obviously not as a manager, that he had three games as a manager and you could think already that there was something more than an assistant manager or someone that could be more than just an assistant manager. And I think that three games showed that because the way he prepared the game, the way he spoke to us in the games against I think was Arsenal, Chelsea, and Villarreal.”
He added:
“You could kind of understand that he was prepared for the moment. I think he was with Jose before and then with Ole, if I’m not mistaken, and you could see that there was already someone that was was ready for the next step and not just to be behind someone else.”
Manchester United won 3-2 against Arsenal in the Premier League and 2-0 at Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League, while drawing 1-1 at Chelsea in the league. The interim coach was appointed after Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s sacking and was later replaced by Ralf Rangnick.
Bruno Fernandes on Michael Carrick’s impact at Manchester United
Fernandes has admitted that Manchester United are in a position they did not think was possible this season. The Red Devils sit third in the Premier League table after a stunning run of eight wins and two losses in their 12 matches under Carrick.
Speaking to Rooney, the club captain said that Carrick has brought in the right energy to the dressing room after Ruben Amorim’s stint left everyone low on confidence. He added that the Englishman is also willing to change his methods swiftly, and that has helped them get the season back on track:
“When he came in, I think, he came with the energy that the team needed. With a lot of positive energy, good things to say, very nice words in terms of not just nice words or good words, but nice words in terms of like when he’s needed something stronger, when he’s needed something softer, when he’s needed something to bring the team together.
He continued:
And I think that was very important, not just for the team, but for the whole environment to feel like ‘okay we’ve changed from here now we just have to try to go up’ and not thinking that what could have been what, what we should have done, what we could have been differently.”
Fernandes has thrived under Carrick and looks increasingly likely to be captaining United in the Champions League next season. He concluded:
“I think that was the main thing that changed everyone in the team, but also staff and everyone was very quick to think ‘okay it didn’t work let’s turn off turn on the other one’ and let’s push to achieve what we want to achieve in this season, and until now it is working very well. We got very good results, some results where we could have done better, but that’s part of playing in the Premier League and the league is so tough and so tight that at this moment we are in the best position we could ever be when Michael just came in. We never thought that we would be in this position at this moment, you would be third and depending on yourself to secure the top four.”
Manchester United have lost to Leeds United and Newcastle United since Carrick took over, while beating the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea. They face Brentford on Monday before hosting Liverpool next weekend.
