Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports, Manchester United legend Bryan Robson has called on his former club to back Michael Carrick rather than look elsewhere for another manager this summer in an exclusive interview with BOYLE Sports .
The retired midfield hero also spoken about whether Marcus Rashford could return to the club next season and his assessment of their upcoming fixture with Crystal Palace.
Title Race
Could United Be In A Title Race?
Could Manchester United be in the title race if they’d changed managers earlier? You never know. It could have started off great, but Ruben Amorim wouldn’t go away from that back five, which wasn’t working in certain games with the boys.
I think Michael Carrick has come in, went for the back four, and he’s playing Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw in their favoured positions. He’s brought Kobbie Mainoo back in, who’s got the legs, and he’s a really good player.
He’d already proven that the year when he first broke through, and he had six months of really good football, and he was outstanding in the FA Cup final against Manchester City. Michael has gone with what his football brain told him; he’s done terrific, and I’m really pleased for him.
Marcus Rashford
Rashford To Return?
Marcus Rashford , as a player, I can’t understand it. When you’re at Manchester United , and everybody’s saying he’s lost confidence and belief in how own form at the club, he goes and says he’s starting to enjoy his football again at Aston Villa . If you can’t enjoy your football at Manchester United , there’s something wrong with you.
I’m just not quite sure whether I'd bring Marcus back in just because the lads could go, well, what about his attitude? At the moment, the club have got Amad Diallo , Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount , who is a top player when he’s fit. Unfortunately for him, he keeps getting injuries.
They’ve even got Patrick Dorgu, who has done fantastic and I feel sorry for the lad because he got injured when he was doing great and his confidence was very high. It was unfortunate United lost him.
Will Rashford Play For Manchester United Again?
Michael Carrick
Carrick's Blueprint
I’m not sure Michael Carrick is building a counter-attacking team. It depends on how the opposition plays. Sometimes they go really defensive, and they can be difficult to break down, so you've got to be careful that you're not getting exposed by a counter-attacking team when you're playing against them. You've got to plan for what you’ll be up against, and I think at the moment, Michael's done that pretty well at that.
Against Everton , United were solid. They had the fight you need, and the way Everton kept putting the corners right under the bar, I thought Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Casemiro and Senne Lammens handled that really well because Everton didn’t really offer anything else other than those corners, which were the real danger.
It was a fantastic goal to win the game, but it was the fighting spirit and that determination not to concede a goal that I thought was very good.
Must Carrick Show More?
Does Michael Carrick need to show us he has more tricks up his sleeve? No, I think Michael’s done a great job, and his substitutions at times have been very good.
People forget. West Ham was not an easy place to go. I know they're in the bottom three at the moment, but they were on a really good run. I think they’d won four on the bounce, and the only defeat was against Chelsea in that run. It's never going to be an easy game going away to West Ham , and everyone was saying it was the best atmosphere they’ve heard in that stadium.
When you play for Manchester United , all the teams and their fans are going to be right up for it, even now.
Will Carrick Guide Man United to Champions League Football?
Palace Opportunity
If Manchester United can get an early goal, that makes a difference because the opposition can’t just sit back forever. They've got to come out and try and get a goal back.
Every Premier League game is a tough game, so you do need to try and break teams down early, and with a team like Crystal Palace, it’s a real challenge for them because they’ve lost some really good players and they’re in Europe this season. Europe takes it toil on any squad.
They hadn’t experienced that before, and so in certain games, they have looked a little bit leggy and tired. I hope that they look like that when they play United .
Next Man Utd Manager
Carrick For Permanent Role?
I don’t see any reason why Michael Carrick shouldn’t get the job. I think if he keeps going, getting the results we’ve been seeing, and gets the club into the Champions League , he deserves to stay on. If he does really well to the end of the season, it'll have been more or less half a season he's been in charge, so there's no reason why Michael shouldn't get the job on a permanent basis. It’s a bit like the last time he came in as interim.
He had three games. He won at Villarreal , which was a great result. He went down to Chelsea , who were flying at the time, made some tactical changes and played three in midfield. It nullified Chelsea , and he got the draw. Then he came back to Old Trafford and beat Arsenal . You’re left going, well, why didn’t you leave him in until the end of the season? They brought in Ralf Rangnick, and he did a poor job.
Michael’s got a great atmosphere going around the training ground. You just look at it and think that when players have success, then the training ground is going to be a happier place, but the lads can see what Michael's trying to do and he's doing very well at this moment in time. Why not give him the job and give him that chance if he gets United into the Champions League at the end of the season?
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