A brief introduction to Carrick’s new right hand men, including former Real Madrid star

Manchester United have undergone extensive changes over the past week. Michael Carrick Michael Carrick was named interim manager until the end of the season yesterday, replacing the sacked Ruben Amorim. United have also named a new backroom staff, with Northern Irishman Jonny Evans and youth coach Travis Binnion continuing on from Darren Fletcher’s brief two-game spell in charge. The club has decided to bring in two new hires to support Carrick: Steve Holland and Jonathan Woodgate. United fans may not know too much about these two men, so here is a closer look. Steve Holland The 55-year-old has had a long and distinguished football coaching career to date. He had a brief spell in management with Crewe Alexandra back in 2007–2008, but really broke through at Chelsea. Holland was named reserve team manager at the Blues in 2009 but rose to assistant manager in 2011 under André Villas-Boas. He also worked under Roberto Di Matteo, winning the Champions League, alongside Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink and Antonio Conte. He finally left Chelsea in 2017 after taking up a role with England alongside Gareth Southgate, where he became assistant manager to the senior national team. During his time with The Three Lions, England reached two Euros finals, losing to Italy in 2021 and Spain in 2024. Holland had a short managerial spell in charge of Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos but was sacked in April 2025 after just five months. Jonathan Woodgate The 45-year-old played for numerous big clubs in his career, such as Leeds United, Newcastle United, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and his local club, Middlesbrough. He also played eight times for England. He was a highly respected centre-back but rarely managed to stay fit, suffering major injuries throughout his playing days. Woodgate was named manager of Middlesbrough for the 2019–2020 season but was sacked after one season when they were on the verge of relegation to the Championship. He was also manager of AFC Bournemouth in 2021, guiding them to the play-offs but they ultimately failed to gain promotion. The former defender rejoined Middlesbrough in 2022 as a first-team coach under Michael Carrick and stayed until the now United manager’s departure in 2025. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.