Manchester United are back in the Champions League and Michael Carrick looks on course to be handed the head coach job for next season.
Michael Carrick said he feels at home in the Manchester United dugout after making his strongest pitch yet to stay on as head coach at Old Trafford into next season.
The 44-year-old has steered United back into the Champions League with a run of 10 wins in 14 games since taking charge in January and his side sealed their return to Europe’s top table with a 3-2 win against Liverpool.
Carrick has now earned wins against Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool since taking over and he looks almost certain to be handed a long-term contract at Old Trafford.
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The former United midfielder has been coy on talk about staying on previously, but he was more emboldened after the win against Liverpool and showed his confidence in the role by insisting he felt comfortable in it, despite the pressure it entails.
United officials have been impressed with the calm that Carrick has brought to the club since his appointment and he said his experience of being a player and a coach at Old Trafford had given him belief in the role.
“It’s been a good run. We’ve obviously beaten some very, very good teams and it’s been challenging,” he said. “Sometimes we’ve won it in some ways, sometimes we’ve got to win it in other ways.
“I love doing what I’m doing. It’s a great position for me to be in. It feels pretty natural, if I’m totally honest with that. I’m not being blasé, it’s a difficult role, but it feels that I’ve been here a long time in different times on and off, but I can even understand what it brings. To be sat in this position is a good position to be.”
Carrick was also asked whether he would be disappointed not to get the job after the results he has delivered, and responded that he felt he had now done enough to earn a shot long-term.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “When we came in, I think Champions League, to be honest, was a little bit in the distance, and we wanted to try and get back into Europe, so to be where we are with three games to spare is a good achievement.
“It has just been a step though, we’re not overcelebrating it, but whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I can always do my best for the club and for the players, especially and try and help them as best as we can and then see what happens after that.”
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