"He's an amazing coach. He's brought different energy. The way we're doing in training, it's unbelievable." Benjamin Sesko didn't mince words after Monday's win over Brentford — and he's not the first United player to say it publicly.
Michael Carrick has now won nine Premier League matches as interim manager since taking over on January 13. In that same stretch, he's accumulated more points than any other top-flight manager in England. United have climbed from sixth — where Ruben Amorim left them — to third, sitting in a Champions League position heading into the final weeks of the season.
A dressing room behind him, a process ahead of him
Sesko's backing isn't an isolated opinion. Amad and Bryan Mbeumo both spoke at United's training camp in Ireland earlier this month, offering similar endorsements. Amad called Carrick "the right man" given his experience and connection to the club. Mbeumo said simply: "I like playing under him."
That's a striking level of public support from players who've only been together under Carrick for a matter of months. It also matters practically — a manager walking into a fractured dressing room without buy-in is a known United problem. Carrick doesn't have that issue.
Club sources confirm a "thorough process" is underway, but Carrick is the frontrunner. He acknowledged as much before the Brentford game: "My opinion has been involved in that. I said from the start I'm not here just to make decisions for the short term."
What the odds actually reflect
United sitting third in the Premier League changes the financial calculus around the summer. Champions League qualification next season means better recruitment leverage, a stronger pitch to potential signings, and roughly £50–80m in additional revenue. Whoever manages United next year inherits a meaningfully different situation depending on how these final weeks go — which is exactly why Carrick's insistence that securing a top-four finish is "not something that we should be all celebrating" is the right read. Third place is the floor. It's not the ceiling.
For United, the gamble isn't really about Carrick's record — nine wins speaks for itself. It's whether the board believes what's working now can hold over a full pre-season and a complete campaign. Carrick won five league titles as a player at Old Trafford. He knows exactly what that standard looks like.
The embrace on the sideline after the final whistle — Carrick and Sesko, arms around each other — said more than any press conference answer.
