Michael Carrick keen to balance short-term success with building for the future

MANCHESTER – Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick said the rapid turnover of managers in the English Premier League will not affect how he approaches the job and he remains focused on the bigger picture at the club, rather than his own future.

Liam Rosenior’s departure from Chelsea on April 22 marked the 10th managerial casualty in England’s top flight this season.

Carrick, who took over at United in January following the sacking of Ruben Amorim, said there was a balance to be struck between short-term success and building for the future.

“There are two sides to it,” the 44-year-old told reporters on April 23, ahead of their April 27 home clash against Brentford.

“There are instant results and the next game being important, but there’s definitely a responsibility, our thinking of what the future looks like and the bigger picture.

“There are all sorts of what ifs in this world. Half full, half empty? I like to live my life in a positive way. I don’t think of what could go wrong; that doesn’t come into it. It’s what can be achieved, what success looks like.”

United have impressed under Carrick, winning eight and drawing two of their 12 matches to sit third in the league. Six points from their remaining five games would secure Champions League qualification after a two-year absence.

Brentford, meanwhile, are in contention for a maiden qualification for Europe. A win against United will catapult them into sixth.

Having drawn their last five league matches, manager Keith Andrews has urged his side to go on the attack at Old Trafford.

He said: “It is a really, really tough test for us against a team that is playing well, playing really good football. They have obviously been very, very effective in what way he (Carrick) set them up over recent weeks and months.

“I just think it is a game for us that we should attack. We should embrace the challenge of it and it has been a while since we have been able to do that (there).”

Both United and Brentford face Liverpool in their run-in, but Mohamed Salah may not feature.

Egypt national team director Ibrahim Hassan said the attacker will miss the rest of the season after suffering a hamstring injury in the Reds’ 3-1 league win over Crystal Palace on April 25.

The 33-year-old Egyptian winger, who has announced he will leave the outgoing Premier League champions at the end of the season, applauded the Anfield crowd as he walked off injured in the 60th minute.

Liverpool did not announce any update on Salah’s condition. However, Hassan said the Egyptian talisman has played his last game for the Reds.

“He has suffered a hamstring tear and will require four weeks of treatment,” Hassan told Reuters.

But he said Salah will be fit for the 2026 World Cup, where Egypt will face Belgium, New Zealand and Iran in Group G. REUTERS