Michael Carrick reveals true feelings on Man Utd fans singing his name as he moves step closer to landing full-time job

The connection between the dugout and the stands is arguably at its strongest since the Sir Alex Ferguson era, and Carrick was visibly moved by the reception. Speaking to the club official website following the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace that saw supporters chanting for Carrick, the former midfielder said: “It’s nice, obviously this place means a lot to me. To have so much positivity and everyone enjoying coming to the games and watching it, for me to have an influence on that, I’m not going to lie, of course it feels good. The players have got to take a lot of credit for that for what they put on the pitch. It’s certainly not all me. That connection with the supporters is huge, to feel that and for them to stay with us, even when there was a bit of a stuttery start, to get through the game and finish like that, it means a lot."

Despite the eventual celebrations, United were forced to sweat after Maxence Lacroix handed the visitors an early lead. Carrick admitted he had been "waiting" for a moment to see how his squad would handle adversity. Goals from Bruno Fernandes and the red-hot Benjamin Sesko eventually turned the tide, vindicating the interim manager's half-time instructions as the players showed the "personality and belief" required to compete at the top of the table.

Explaining his half-time team talk, Carrick said: “It was just a couple of little tweaks in shape, maybe a couple of ideas, some things that we tried from the start that we wanted to tweak a bit. Honestly, it wasn’t anything major really, I won’t take much credit for that. I think the boys showed as the first half progressed, that it was on its way to being better.

"You have got to find a way in games sometimes, we wanted to make more runs and be a little bit more aggressive with attacking their backline, which you always try to do but I thought we did it better second half, ended up getting the penalty from that. It was more, how do we react? It’s been going in our favour, it was something I’ve been waiting for, this moment, to see ‘go on then, what are we going to do about it?’ The boys responded ever so well. It was a big thing for us.”

The star of the show was Sesko once again, as he headed home the winner to continue his sensational form in 2026. The Slovenian striker has now netted seven times in his last eight appearances, looking every bit the £74 million superstar United hoped for when they secured his signature in the summer. After the match, Sesko took to social media to celebrate, even reciting a famous club chant by writing: “We’re Man United, and we’re never gonna stop!” That passion has clearly resonated with his manager, as Carrick was quick to highlight the striker's grounded attitude and relentless work rate.

“Absolutely delighted for Ben. It’s certainly not been a headache, it’s not been a big drama. He’s had a huge impact and he’s making big improvements. A little bit is getting used to what it is like to be here and the feelings and what it means to play. Things that we can take for granted at times. He’s desperate to do well, he works so hard, he’s an absolute pleasure to work with. Today, he started and it was an absolutely fantastic goal," Carrick added.

While the Old Trafford board continues to evaluate potential long-term successors to Ruben Amorim, the dressing room has allegedly already made up its mind. Reports suggest that senior figures like Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire are fully behind Carrick, preferring his balanced tactical approach to the rigid systems used previously. By allowing the players to express themselves while maintaining his elite technical knowledge, Carrick has transformed United from a side playing chess into a winning machine that currently looks like a lock for Champions League qualification.