Ruben Amorim endured a disastrous tenure at Manchester United before being sacked in January and Michael Carrick has been able to steady the ship since succeeding him
Michael Carrick has done a brilliant job at Manchester United so far (Image: Offside via Getty Images)
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer believes Manchester United‘s turnaround under interim head coach Michael Carrick has justified previous criticism of Ruben Amorim. The Red Devils sacked Amorim as head coach in January after he fell out with the club’s board.
The former Sporting boss arrived at Old Trafford in November 2024 and led United to 15th, their lowest Premier League finish on record, and a Europa League final defeat to Tottenham. Amorim’s tenure was plagued by inconsistent form and a muddled style of play.
The Portuguese was heavily criticised for his tactical inflexibility, having stuck with a back-three for the majority of his tenure at M16 – despite calls for him to show greater versatility. The 41-year-old was initially succeeded by Darren Fletcher for two games before Carrick was appointed until the end of the season.
And United’s temporary boss has had an impressive impact so far with wins over the league’s top two, Manchester City and Arsenal, before a thrilling 3-2 victory over Fulham last weekend. The Red Devils currently sit fourth in the top-flight table amid growing optimism that they will secure a return to the Champions League.
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United have not been in Europe’s elite competition since the 2023/24 season under Erik ten Hag, when they crashed out in the group stage. There is no European football at all this term for Carrick’s men, but ex-Newcastle United striker Shearer has explained to Betfair why they have every chance of getting back into the Champions League for the 2026/27 campaign.
He said: “What a job Michael Carrick is doing. The turnaround from every single player is chalk and cheese.
“I guess it was us questioning Ruben Amorim every single week and we were justified to do that because what we saw with him compared to with Michael Carrick is remarkable. Michael deserves great credit. He has everyone working.
“There’s a real understanding of what he wants. He has them really well set up and has managed three unbelievable games so far.
Ruben Amorim’s tenure at Manchester United lasted only 14 months(Image: Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
“They’ve got a chance of winning the fourth and fifth. They’ve put themselves in with a shout of a Champions League place, there’s no doubt. It’s a different Man United now to what it was a couple of months ago.”
United return to action at home to Tottenham on Saturday (12:30pm). The Red Devils have failed to beat Spurs since October 2022, but Carrick insists he is looking forward to the challenge when asked about Thomas Frank’s side in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
The 44-year-old said: “They certainly bring a challenge. The way they finished the game the other day, they’ve had, over a period, players injured, a lot of changes to the team, which makes things more difficult.
“They’re getting players back, they have really good attackers that look to stretch the backline and play forward and attack the box an awful lot. A slightly different game to what we’ve played in recent weeks, but we’re looking forward to it.
“We are in a good place, the boys have worked well again this week. Feet on the ground, let’s not get carried away. It’s about what’s next. Big challenge ahead.”
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