Michael Carrick addresses Man United future as decision on permanent role looms | OneFootball

Michael Carrick has accepted it is inevitable there will be talk about him managing Manchester United on a permanent basis after his superb start in charge and stressed that he loves being at Old Trafford.

The 44-year-old has won six of his seven games after being appointed until the end of the season, taking 19 points from a possible 21, while Sunday’s victory over Crystal Palace took United third in the Premier League.

United director of football Jason Wilcox, chief executive Omar Berrada and co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe face a decision whether to give him a long-term contract to stay in charge, rather than looking for an outsider as Ruben Amorim’s replacement for the next few years.

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Michael Carrick has won six of his seven games ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Newcastle (Getty Images)

While Carrick has deflected questions about whether he wants the job, he has hinted he does, accepted that questions are the logical consequence of his winning start and said that he is looking to the club’s future in everything he does.

“It's going to be every week, isn't it?” he said. “There's no getting away from the situation. There’s not really an awful lot I can say about it. I love being here. I love doing what I'm doing.

“I've said it from the start [that] I'm not making any decisions for short-term or quick fixes. I think it's the responsibility, however long I'm here, to make decisions that are the best for the football club in the long term.”

Carrick had three seasons in charge of Middlesbrough and then a few months off before returning to United in January and he stressed that he sees his own future in coaching and management.

He added: “I enjoy working with players. I enjoy trying to help players. The responsibility here is the whole football club and I enjoy it. It's a privilege to be able to influence certain things, but I enjoy working with players and helping them.

“Whether that's the career, whether that's for the team, whether that's development week to week, it's something I just really enjoy and am passionate about.

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Carrick has vowed to make ‘long-term’ decisions while in charge (REUTERS)

“I never really lost it, to be honest, whether it's managing, head coach, whatever role that is, it comes down to working with players and people really to get the best out of people and backroom staff and supporters.

“It's something I like seeing, that development and connection growing. So, whether that's skills or technical skills or whether you see the group coming together, like [on Sunday] from a setback to be able to overcome that, it's nice when you are part of that.”

Carrick hopes that Luke Shaw, who came off in Sunday’s win over Crystal Palace with illness, will be able to play at Newcastle on Wednesday but the game will come too soon for Mason Mount or Lisandro Martinez.