“We never thought…”: Fernandes lavishes ultimate praise on Carrick, sends INEOS timely message

Manchester United are a transformed team under Michael Carrick, and the results prove it. When Ruben Amorim was sacked, United were sixth in the Premier League table, 11 points behind Aston Villa in third, and also trailing Liverpool and Chelsea in the race for Champions League football. Fast forward four months, and the Red Devils are third, in the driving seat to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition, with multiple players looking reborn under the caretaker head coach. Bruno Fernandes is the perfect example. Having played in a deeper role under Amorim, the club captain is back doing what he does best: terrorising defences while playing in the No.10 role. Bruno Fernandes, a player reborn under Michael Carrick And the Portuguese superstar lavished praise on the former United midfielder for the impact he has had in such a short span of time. Speaking to Wayne Rooney, the 31-year-old explained (via BBC), “When he came in, he had the positive energy the team needed. “Not just nice words but when he needed something stronger, or something softer, something to bring the team together. That was not just important for the team but the whole environment. “We weren’t thinking about what could have been or what we should have done. Very quickly we changed to, ‘it didn’t work out, let’s turn on to the other one and push to achieve what we want this season’. Skipper lavishes praise on Michael Carrick The Portugal international always knew Michael Carrick had what it takes to be a great head coach during his first spell in charge of the team following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking. “He had three games as a manager. The way he prepared for the games and the way he spoke to us made you think he was more than an assistant manager. He was ready for the next step.” Interestingly, Fernandes also added that he and his teammates did not think they would climb up to third so quickly. “We have got very good results. This league is so tough and at this moment, we are in the best position we could be. When Michael came in, we never thought at this moment, we would be third.” Job not done yet The ex-England international‘s impact cannot be understated. While performances have been inconsistent recently, the fact that United are in such a strong position shows what a great job he has done. However, the head coach cannot afford to rest on his laurels just yet. United need a maximum of six points to guarantee Champions League football from their remaining five games. Who knows? In the process, Michael Carrick might just cement his place in the dugout for the long term as well. Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images 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 Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25