Michael Carrick knows better than most what Manchester United demand of their manager.
Having spent more than a decade at Old Trafford as a player and later worked on the coaching staff, he understands the scale of expectation that accompanies the position. Yet even that experience cannot shield him from the scrutiny that has followed another difficult run of results.
Carrick’s response has been to insist that his future is not something occupying his thoughts.
“I think that’ll be a lot longer than one or two games of results,” he said.
“In terms of future and ownership and how long I’ve got in the job, I’m not thinking ‘how long have I got?’ It’s ridiculous to think that way in a position that I’m in. That’s just not on the radar.”
The irony is that Carrick’s appointment was built on the very opposite narrative.
When Ruben Amorim was dismissed in January, Carrick was initially handed the job on an interim basis. What followed was a remarkable revival, with United winning 11 of his first 16 matches and securing a return to the Champions League. That form ultimately convinced the club to hand him a permanent two-year contract in May.
The permanent appointment therefore felt like a logical continuation of the revival.
The difficulty is that the results since then have not followed the same trajectory.
United have lost three of their first six matches across all competitions this season. Their Premier League campaign began with defeat at Hull City, followed by a 5-2 victory over Ipswich and a 2-2 draw at Everton before last weekend’s 1-0 Manchester derby defeat.
Then came Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup collapse.
United raced into a 2-0 lead against Brighton inside the opening 10 minutes but surrendered that advantage to lose 3-2 at Old Trafford, exiting the competition at the third-round stage for a second successive season.
It has created a striking contrast with the optimism surrounding Carrick only a few months ago.
His interim spell had changed the mood around Old Trafford. His permanent tenure, by comparison, has already produced the sort of questions that have become familiar to United managers since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
And that is perhaps the most interesting aspect of Carrick’s current predicament. This is not simply about three defeats in six matches. It is about the speed with which the atmosphere around a Manchester United manager can change.
A strong run of results can generate belief that a long-term solution has finally been found. A poor sequence can just as quickly reopen questions about whether the manager is capable of delivering the consistency required at Old Trafford.
Carrick is now experiencing that second phase.
“It’s two or three games that we haven’t had certain results, and two or three games too many because I really hate losing,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean that the world caves in.”
That measured response is understandable. United’s season is still in its infancy, and Carrick’s permanent tenure is only beginning. But the pressure exists regardless, particularly at a club where every disappointing result is amplified by the history of those who have occupied the dugout before him.
The recent Manchester derby provided another example. United were unable to capitalise on playing against ten men for much of the match after Phil Foden’s dismissal and eventually lost 1-0 to Erling Haaland’s controversial winner. The result left Carrick’s side with four points from their opening four league matches.
The Brighton defeat then intensified the scrutiny.
Carrick accepted responsibility afterwards, insisting that the solution was not to apportion blame but to find answers.
“It’s my responsibility, and I’m fine with that,” he said. “It’s not a blame game. Blame me, no problem, but it’s not about blaming people.
“It’s about finding solutions. It’s a whole collective thing. It’s about what you focus on. I know where we want to get to and we want to get there fast.”
That is the challenge now facing Carrick.
His interim spell bought him credibility. It changed perceptions and earned him the permanent job. But it also established a level of expectation that makes the current downturn more noticeable.
The irony is that the very success that secured Carrick the permanent position has contributed to the pressure surrounding him now.
United supporters have already seen what his team can look like when results and performances align. They have also seen how quickly confidence can disappear when the results turn.
Carrick is therefore facing a familiar Manchester United problem: the job is rarely judged simply on where the team is today. It is judged against where the club believes it should be heading.
For now, Carrick is refusing to look beyond the next game.
“I’m not thinking ‘how long have I got?’”
It is probably the only approach available to him. The interim manager who revived Manchester United now has to prove that, as the permanent manager, he can sustain it.
However, as so many of his predecessors discovered, at Old Trafford the distance between those two challenges can be remarkably short.