Michael Carrick believes Manchester United have the potential to achieve something special this season after overseeing a remarkable turnaround at Old Trafford.
Michael Carrick stepped in as temporary coach in January and helped transform United’s fortunes. The Reds went on to win 12 of their 17 matches under him, suffering only two defeats, and climbed all the way to third in the Premier League.
That run has naturally raised expectations ahead of Carrick’s first full season in charge. With Manchester United also returning to the Champions League, the demands will be much greater, but Michael Carrick isn’t shying away from the pressure.
Michael Carrick wants United to believe
The United boss believes having the right mentality will be crucial. Rather than approaching the new campaign with caution, he wants his players to genuinely believe they can compete for something significant.
“First and foremost, for the players to believe that, it puts us all in a good place.
“I think you’ve got to have the belief, you’ve got to be going into the season thinking we can achieve something special.
“Don’t be going into a season thinking this could be a struggle.
“We’ve got to set out to really achieve something.”
Carrick knows, however, that confidence means little unless the squad can turn it into performances once the season begins.
His impressive spell in charge has given United a platform, but he is aware that maintaining that progress over a full campaign will be a very different challenge.
“But they’ve got to go out there and do it and feel it. So for them to have that, and I feel it around them, you know, that excitement of if something’s possible without getting carried away because of the whole challenge ahead of us.”
Manchester United have to aim high
The return of Champions League football means United will have more matches to navigate this season, making squad depth and consistency even more important.
Carrick isn’t prepared to make a bold prediction about where United will finish, but he believes the improvement since January provides plenty of reason for optimism.
“I’m not going to make any crazy predictions, but I think on the back of what we’ve done, I keep saying it, I think that gives us the confidence to move forward.”
The next step is maintaining that upward trajectory when the pressure increases.
“How quickly we keep moving forward, that’s the challenge, but as long as we’re stable and we can keep moving in the direction, I think that’s what we can ask.”
Carrick also made it clear that simply returning to the Champions League isn’t enough for a club of United’s stature.
“We’ve definitely got the potential to achieve something really special. I’m not hiding from the fact, and we should aim to do that.”
And when asked whether that could mean challenging for the Premier League title, Carrick refused to give a definitive answer.
“But I can’t give you a definite answer on [can United win the title], but it’s certainly what we’re pushing to do because we have to, because that’s the club we are.”
After the progress made in the second half of last season, Manchester United now have a chance to prove that Carrick’s turnaround was more than a short-term revival.
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