Carrick hails Old Trafford red-hot seat
MICHAEL CARRICK has told Ralf Rangnick that he’s walking into the biggest job in football.
Rangnick, 63, will take over from Carrick as Manchester United’s interim manager after the daunting trip to Chelsea.
He will inherit a team that has qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League but is in disarray after losing five of their opening 12 Premier League games.
But Carrick said: “It is a massive job, for me it is the biggest job in football.
“It is just my opinion, but it is a huge job and this club is one of the best clubs – if not the best club – in the world.
“The place is very special. I’ve been here 15 years and it means an awful lot to me. I think whoever comes in will appreciate that when they step through the door.
“The first thing that strikes you is the privilege and responsibility that comes with being in a position of working for this club in any role.”
Carrick, 40, plotted the 2-0 win at Villarreal in midweek that keeps United’s Euro dream alive.
But the former England midfielder (below) accepts that the Red Devils are now a long way behind Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
He said: “There’s no denying where we are in the league. I’ve got to be realistic.
“But it wasn’t that long ago that we finished second in the league and were on a really good curve
of improvement. I don’t think that can be forgotten.
“Yes, of course we’ve had a spell that’s not been good enough.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s a poor team. It’s very different, having a poor run of results, to being a poor team.”
Carrick, who played 464 games for the club, added: “There’s plenty left in the season, there’s no doubt about that.
“The other night was massive to confirm we’ll be in the Champions League and finishing top of the group was huge, giving us something to look forward to.
“Over time, not just here but at other clubs, you have bad spells, sometimes really bad spells, in a season and you can almost have another season within a season when things change.
“That’s form, that’s football and confidence. It’s how football goes at times.
“Striving for consistency is always the balance that you want to get. That’s the gold standard.
“Who’s to say that as a group of players they can’t go on a run again? They’ve proved over the last two or three years that they’re more than capable of going on a run.
“But you need to take it step by step and start winning games and getting on a run and build momentum. Anything can happen after that.”
Rangnick’s imminent arrival means a fresh start for the United squad – and Carrick admits that can be both a positive and negative for players.
He said: “I think whenever a new manager comes in or when anyone changes a job or they have a new boss in any walk of life, there is a feeling of, ‘What’s next’.
“You can’t hide from that, that is normal, that is natural.
“People react to that in different ways.
“Sometimes that gives them a freshness and some people are a little bit unsure, the confidence is knocked a bit because they don’t know if they are going to be in the team or if the boss is going to like them.
“That is just normal and it is something you have got to cope with.”