Amad Diallo believes Manchester United already have their next long-term manager – and he’s standing in the technical area right now.
Michael Carrick, handed the job only until the end of the season in January, has dragged United up to third in the Premier League and into a commanding position in the race for Champions League football. A campaign that threatened to drift has been yanked back on course by a man who knows Old Trafford better than most.
The club moved quickly to sack Ruben Amorim at the start of the year, intending to buy themselves time, assess the market and weigh up every possible candidate. Carrick was supposed to be a stopgap. He has turned himself into a serious contender.
“He knows the club and has the DNA”
Speaking at United’s training camp in Dublin, Amad didn’t bother hiding where the dressing room stands.
“Obviously it’s not for us as a player to decide, but he’s been very great, he’s been doing so much for the team,” the winger said. “He has a lot of experience, he knows the club and has the DNA. We think he’s the right man. We are really happy for what he is doing right now.”
Those are not the words of a squad simply being polite about an interim coach. They sound like players who feel a clear direction again.
Carrick’s message has been sharp from the moment he walked back through the door.
“Since he’s arrived he’s been clear to everyone that he wants to win, he wants to reach the Champions League next season, and he’s been working with each player so he’s doing very well and we are really happy to have him as a manager,” Amad added. “Sometimes this kind of manager can bring the club where they belong. From a personal view he’s the right man but it’s not the players who decide.”
Ambition, clarity, individual attention. The basics, yes, but they have not always been guaranteed at United in recent years. Under Carrick, the players sense a structure they can trust.
Dressing room backing grows
Amad is not alone. Bryan Mbeumo echoed the sentiment, stressing how quickly Carrick has connected with the squad.
“We’ve got good experience with him, playing under him as well. It’s not for us to decide but we going to try to take as much as we can from him,” Mbeumo said.
“He knows the journey of the club, he knows how to talk to us as well, I think it’s been easier because he know the place so he has been great to work with.
“I think the club will decide at the end of the season, but my honest opinion is we’re really happy to have Michael Carrick as a manager and he’s doing well.”
That phrase keeps returning: he knows the club. For a board that has spent years searching for the right fit, that familiarity, combined with tangible improvement on the pitch, is a powerful argument.
United wanted time and space to make a cool, calculated decision. Carrick, by quietly hauling them back into the Champions League picture and winning over the dressing room, is forcing them to make a different kind of choice: walk away from a manager the players clearly believe in, or back the man who has reminded them what the club is supposed to look like.
