Michael Carrick joined a Manchester United side very low on confidence at the start of 2026 after a poor run of form in December under previous boss Rúben Amorim, with the Portuguese head coach being dismissed after an outburst following a draw away to Leeds.

Darren Fletcher was brought in while United searched for their caretaker boss for the remainder of the season, but he unfortunately oversaw a 2-1 loss to Brighton in the third round of the FA Cup, as United were eliminated from both domestic competitions at the first time of asking.

Hired just days before the Manchester derby on the 17th of January, Michael Carrick oversaw a dramatic overturn in form, as his side won back-to-back games against Manchester City and Arsenal, which set the tone for the remainder of the season.

Restoring United to a more traditional 4-2-3-1 setup and giving Kobbie Mainoo more game time, United picked up more points in the second half of the season than any other side in the league, as United surged to a third-place finish, qualifying for the Champions League in the process.

Despite initially emphasising that he would only take charge of United for the remainder of last season, his success led to discussions about a permanent role, which was confirmed on the 22nd of May with a two-year deal.

It's safe to say that Manchester United's start to the season has been far from ideal, as the club sit in 13th place after one win, one draw and two losses.

Despite this, Fabrizio Romano said on his YouTube channel that United plans to stick with Carrick, even though his side has had a poor start to the 2026/27 campaign.

Speaking after yesterday's defeat, he said, “Man Utd absolutely remain convinced that the future will be bright under Michael Carrick.

“Manchester United absolutely know that maybe the point about the summer transfer window was to add one more player, a left-back. They tried. It was not possible to proceed with the right options.

“United didn’t want to sign just to say: ‘OK, we signed one.’ They wanted to be convinced about the player they were going to sign, and so that’s why nothing happened.

“But they maintain total faith and confidence in Michael Carrick. They only have four points in four Premier League games, so obviously this is disappointing in terms of results, but Man Utd remain convinced about that.

“Carrick remains absolutely convinced too. What Carrick says in public – ‘We are going to do very well, I am confident, this team is good’ and all the rest – is what he’s saying to the club.

“Carrick remains absolutely convinced that this team can do very well in the next weeks and months, especially after the break. So that’s the feeling of Michael Carrick.”

Manchester United have two more games before the three-week international break, as Carrick's side face Brighton in the FA Cup on the 16th, before travelling to London on the 20th to face Fulham, and it is vital that United head into the break with an upturn in form to avoid three weeks of negativity from the United fanbase towards the club.

While pressure is certainly mounting on Carrick after their disappointing start to the season, it's important to remember that United are just five games into their 2026/27 campaign, with a couple of key players sidelined by injury.

Amad Diallo, Matthijs de Ligt and Carlos Baleba are currently sidelined, while Benjamin Šeško is still getting back to full fitness after missing pre-season through injury.  

Time is something not usually given to managers in the modern game, and it's easy to forget that Sir Alex Ferguson was almost sacked in 1990 after a poor run of form, with reports indicating that he was very close to losing his job before his FA Cup triumph in the 1989/90 season kept him at the club.

 A more modern example is Mikel Arteta, appointed by Arsenal in December 2019, who led his side to back-to-back eighth-place finishes in 2019/20 and 2020/21. Despite negativity from the fanbase, the club put its utmost faith in Arteta to turn things around, as the side finished fifth in the 2021/22 season before three second-place finishes in a row.

That faith finally paid off, as Arsenal won the league last season for the first time since 2003/04 and reached the Champions League final, losing on penalties to PSG.