Manchester United News: Michael Carrick Dismisses ‘Totally Irrelevant’ Criticism As He Begins Interim Tenure

Michael Carrick insisted that he will not pay attention to the "totally irrelevant" opinions on his appointment as Manchester United interim head coach.

The former Red Devils midfielder replaced Darren Fletcher in the role earlier this week and will take charge of his first game on Saturday, which will be the Manchester derby.

Both Carrick's and Fletcher's appointments drew criticism from Roy Keane on The Overlap and Stick to Football podcast, which also features Gary Neville, as he accused the club of nepotism.

Keane also branded Carrick's wife as "a big mouth", referring to a deleted social media post by Lisa Carrick on the Irishman after his assessment of Carrick's post-match interview following United's Champions League defeat to Olympiacos in 2014.

This will be Carrick's second stint as manager at United, following his three-game spell between November and December 2021 (W2 D1).

As a player, Carrick only recorded more wins in the Premier League against Sunderland (16) than he did versus Manchester City (P24 W13 D3 L8).

He was adamant that the criticism from people such as Keane does not make his job harder, as he is fully focused on the task at hand.

"They're not putting more pressure on me," said Carrick. "I don't feel that.

"There are plenty of opinions around, some positive, some not too much. It's totally irrelevant in terms of what I focus on.

"There's a lot that can be said, it's the way of the world. I'm not going to pay too much attention to that.

"For me, the players and staff, we focus on how we're going to succeed."

One former team-mate who has backed Carrick to succeed is Wayne Rooney.

Rooney and Carrick played 366 times together for the Red Devils, lifting five Premier League titles during their time at Old Trafford.

"Michael's great fun. He is a great character, but don't be fooled by how calm he looks," said Rooney on the latest edition of The Wayne Rooney Show.

"He can have fun as well, but make no mistake, he'd be going in there now with full focus.

"It is probably the obvious choice really because I don't think there are any top, top managers available at the minute.

"I think it is the right choice at this moment in time.

"It is a difficult task of course. Where Manchester United are at the minute is not a good place and Michael has to go in and steady the ship."