Man Utd stars' parents thrilled with 'lovely and welcoming' Michael Carrick after Ruben Amorim snubbed academy kids

Before Amorim was sacked by United earlier this month, he aimed a dig at some of the club's academy players. Youngsters Harry Amass and Chido Obi had taken to social media to air their apparent grievances at Amorim, prompting the Portuguese to say there was too much "entitlement" at the Red Devils. Mainoo's half-brother had also worn a 'Free Kobbie Mainoo' t-shirt after being left out of the first team. 

He said in December,: "There is a feeling of entitlement we have in our club. Sometimes, difficult moments is not a bad thing for the kids. We don't always need accolades in everything. We are not helping. Nowadays, they [players] speak and go against the club because they feel entitled. Then, we have legends of the club saying 'if you don't play, leave, because everyone is wrong'. No. Let's stay. Let's fight. Let's overcome. The door to my office is open. That is the way we can solve things [but] nobody is coming to talk to me."

Not long after being named United's caretaker boss until the end of the season, Carrick masterminded his side's 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Premier League. Despite being there for a matter of days, defender Lisandro Martinez talked up the impact he had made at Old Trafford. 

The Argentine said: "One important thing Michael Carrick said was 'use the energy of the people'. Today I think we did it. When we are together it is impossible to lose at home. When you play against this kind of players, the team defends. Not just one or two players. Today we defended so well. We were so compact all the time and then you have the confidence to go into the duels. You feel today a different energy in the eyes of the players. Today the team won, that's the most important thing for me."

Earlier this month, The Sun reported that United were unhappy with Amorim's criticism of academy players and first-team star Patrick Dorgu. On the wing-back, he said you can "feel the anxiety" when the former Lecce man gets the ball. Now, the same publication claims that Carrick's arrival has gone down well with youth players and their families, with some praising his "welcoming" approach.

A source told the news outlet: "Carrick has been a regular at the training ground following the progress of his son. He is a lovely welcoming guy who always has time for everyone.

"People respect him and admire him because of his United career. But they also feel like he gets what it means to have a son in the academy. Parents were appalled by Amorim’s comments. Anyone in professional football should know how hard it is to make a career in football at any level, let alone at United."

United put in their best performance of the season to beat Pep Guardiola's side but they may need to be even better to overcome Premier League leaders Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. And Carrick is well aware of that challenge Mikel Arteta's team poses. 

He added, "It won't be copy and paste. I'm never one that likes to say 'same again' because it's never, ever the same again. Even if you come in half time and you've had a good performance for 45 minutes, the second half is not the same. We kept the game in good places last week and credit to the boys for that. But we've got to build on it. If we are our best, we feel we've got a good chance."