Michael Carrick Lays Out Ambition in First Words As Man Utd's New Permanent Manager
Michael Carrick's first words since being appointed Manchester United's new permanent manager made it clear he understands his duties and responsibilities.
United haven't been part of a Premier League title race since Carrick himself was a player in Sir Alex Ferguson's final season in 2012–13, while the club last reached the Champions League final in 2011-going no further than the quarterfinals of the European competition the 15 years since.
In recent years, Liverpool have matched United's record of 20 English league championships. Meanwhile, Manchester City have jumped onto 10 all-time titles, having been on just three when Ferguson lifted his final trophy 13 years ago.
The Red Devils haven't been in a position to seriously challenge for a long time, but the transformation Carrick has overseen from the point of returning to Old Trafford as interim boss in January has been monumental. No Premier League team has matched United for Premier League points-36 from a possible 48 across 16 matches-over that period of time.
"[Winning titles is] where we want to be as a club and it's not even so much for me. It'd be an incredible thing for me to be able to do, but just to see this club lifting trophies and winning leagues and challenging for Champions Leagues, that's the buzz," Carrick said in his first interview with his new title, speaking to ex-teammate Wayne Rooney for a special of the club's in-house podcast.
"That's what gets us out of bed every morning and [we want to] enjoy the grind of the summer and come back stronger for next season."
Premier League or Bust
It's a high bar to be considered a success at Manchester United. Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho ensured the club had lifted three trophies in the first four years since Ferguson's retirement, but neither came close to winning the Premier League. Neither avoided being fired.
Erik ten Hag is one of only six managers in Manchester United history to win two trophies and yet frustrated fans would rank the Dutchman among the worst to have held the position in the Premier League era. Ole Gunnar Solskjær is the only manager post-Ferguson to have overseen two top-three finishes-making his the most consistent spell-and yet a lack of trophies, despite regular semifinal appearances, is still used as an argument by critics to belittle his tenure.
Every cup matters, but the Premier League is what Manchester United ultimately live or die by.
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 9:45 AM.