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By CHRIS WHEELER, NORTHERN SPORTS WRITER Published: 00: 55 AEDT, 9 February 2026 | Updated: 00: 55 AEDT, 9 February 2026 8 View comments With every passing game and each win, Michael Carrick is making the job of managing Manchester United look rather easy. With every passing game and each win, he is also making Ruben Amorim look a little foolish. For all that Carrick has done right since he was appointed head coach until the end of the season, it has only highlighted just how much Amorim got wrong during his turbulent 14-month reign at Old Trafford. In many ways, Carrick is the perfect antidote to the combustible Portuguese: a man who wins games on the pitch and minds what he says off it. Amorim was box office but, sadly, his team were not. From the moment the 41-year-old arrived at Old Trafford and insisted on switching to a back-three system in midfield, he made life hard for himself. The blind belief in his philosophy, the baffling treatment of Kobbie Mainoo, the unnecessary public comments about his players and ultimately director of football Jason Wilcox. It’s anathema to Carrick, a man raised in the siege mentality tradition of Sir Alex Ferguson who would always try to address any issues in-house rather than air them in public. To listen to Amorim, you would think he was faced with myriad problems that would take an age to solve. When he was sacked and caretaker boss Darren Fletcher drew his first game at Burnley then lost the second in the FA Cup at home to Brighton, there was no reason to dispute that. Man United made it four wins in a row under Michael Carrick with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Carrick is making a mockery of the struggles Ruben Amorim faced during his Old Trafford tenure But the speed and simplicity with which Carrick seems to have righted the ship has made a mockery of Amorim’s struggles. That isn’t to say it’s been easy by any means. Carrick and his new backroom staff – notably assistant Steve Holland – will have done a huge amount of work behind the scenes to turn United around. But more than anything it feels like a victory for common sense. Round pegs in round holes. A system that suits the players. A back-four with Harry Maguire at the heart of it. A midfield with Mainoo, reinvigorated and determined to prove a point, doing the running for Casemiro. Most of all, players being trusted to do what they do best and enjoying their football again. ‘I think Michael came in with the right idea of giving the players the freedom to take responsibility on the pitch to do the decisions that were needed, ’ said captain Bruno Fernandes after the 2-0 win over Tottenham. ‘We hope we can help him even more so everyone can see we are good players. That’s why we are at Man United. I think everyone understands the pressure of playing for this club. Everyone knows the expectations around it. ’ Fernandes tried a Rabona in the second half, much to the delight of the United fans who ended the game cheering every pass as United saw out a victory with ease after he scored the second goal. Carrick, too, is enjoying seeing his team playing with freedom after the torpor of the Amorim era. ‘I think it's just encouraging the expression, ’ said the United boss who allowed himself a brief thumbs-up to the Stretford End when they sang his name in the dying minutes. ‘The attacking play, and not so much the enjoyment where you can do what you want, and it's a playground kind of flicks and tricks, but more playing with a purpose and confidence really. ’ Carrick's management has been a triumph for common sense, putting round pegs in round holes United were playing with both confidence and swagger against Spurs on Saturday afternoon Maybe the players need to have a look at themselves as well. After all, Amorim certainly isn’t the first coach to pay the price for the underachievement of this group. But there’s no doubt Carrick and his staff are getting the best out of them during a four-game start that has seen him get the better of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Marco Silva and now Thomas Frank. Not since February 2024, under Erik ten Hag, have United won four on the bounce. Carrick was able to choose the same starting line-up for the second game in a row, and certainly having free weeks to get his players refreshed and ready is a benefit. He started with Matheus Cunha through the middle and Bryan Mbeumo on the left, and then switched them. Mbeumo scored his third goal in four games under the new boss from a clever corner routine involving Fernandes and Mainoo after the 29th-minute sending-off of Spurs skipper Cristian Romero changed the momentum of the game. United’s game management was so much better than when they lost to 10-man Everton at home in November. By the time Fernandes scored late on, he was playing off the left but the changes in personnel and positions hadn’t weakened them at all. So what’s changed? ‘It's difficult to say because I wasn't here before, ’ said Carrick. ‘I think we’ve just come in with our beliefs, how we see things, principles, and asking the players to do certain things and behave in a certain way. ‘I'm pleased with the buy-in, the connection and everyone's invested in it. I think that goes a long way. I think tactics and certain times, you know, the game can flow in different ways and you can look very different, good or bad, but I think being in a real good emotional place helps you. ’ Old Trafford was certainly a good place to be for United fans on Saturday. The change in mood is palpable under Carrick after just a few weeks in the job. If this continues, it would be a bold decision not to give him the job permanently at the end of the season. Somewhere in Portugal, Amorim might well have been watching this game and asking himself just where he went wrong. Carrick is getting the best out of United's players and the mood has been transformed No-one epitomises the transformation at Old Trafford under Carrick more than Mainoo. Banished to the sidelines by Amorim and totally disenchanted with his boyhood club, the 20-year-old has relished his return to the first-team fold. This was another excellent performance from Mainoo who has wasted no time at all getting back up to speed. Defensively, he was excellent, making two crunching challenges against Spurs and getting around the pitch. Offensively, it was his clever pass from Fernandes’ corner that led to Mbeumo’s opening goal. His exile from the United team has cost him an England place, but there is still time to play his way into Thomas Tuchel’s plans and the German would be foolish not to consider him for the World Cup squad. ‘It's easy to think he's a lot older and more experienced than he is, ’ said Carrick. ‘But credit to him, he's come right in and found his rhythm of football, which is not easy after a period of time out. ‘There's no doubt of Kobbie's ability and what he can bring. We just need to be careful about putting all this weight on his shoulders and expecting too much of him. ’ Kobbie Mainoo continues to impress after Carrick brought him back into the starting XI  Fernandes’ goal means he has joined the 200-club at United – the sixth player to either score or assist in 200 goals in the Premier League era. Only Wayne Rooney has reached that milestone faster than Fernandes who took 314 games to record 104 goals and 96 assists, placing him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Paul Scholes in the list. Fernandes met Diogo Dalot’s cross from the right and guided the ball past Guglielmo Vicario to put United 2-0 ahead. It was a slightly unconventional finish, but one the United skipper insisted was fully intentional. ‘I think that if you go with your feet, the probability of the ball going very high is big because it is bouncing, ’ he said. ‘Some people will say I didn't mean it, but I did because I knew the ball would go straight into the floor so I had to just go straight across Vicario. ’ With Fernandes’ future at United uncertain beyond the World Cup this summer, and no guarantees that he won’t follow Casemiro out of the club, once again the Portugal star showed just how hard he will be to replace. Bruno Fernandes became the sixth United player to either score or assist in 200 goals in the Premier League era With 88 minutes gone and victory in the bag, Carrick turned to the dugout and summoned Tyler Fletcher off the bench. While twin bother Jack made his debut as a substitute at Aston Villa in December, this was Tyler’s first appearance for United as he replaced Mainoo for the remaining seven minutes of the game. It would have been a big moment for Fletcher anyway, but Carrick’s decision carried even more significance on the day that fans paid tribute to the Busby Babes lost at Munich 68 years ago. Carrick is acutely aware of the importance of the tragedy to United’s history, and the expectation to continue promoting young players to the first team. He spoke about it eloquently in the build-up to the Spurs game, saying: ‘As soon as you come here, you’re made aware and you can’t help but know and understand the history. ‘Munich is the biggest part of the history of this club, the tragedy itself and how the team and club bounced back. It’s a way of life for the club, and it’s important we carry it on. ’

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