Michael Carrick feels he has the perfect blend of coaching experience and club knowledge in his new Manchester United set-up.
Carrick was appointed as the Reds’ head coach until the end of the 2025/26 season on Tuesday, and his staff have also been confirmed.
Steve Holland – former Chelsea assistant and Gareth Southgate’s no.2 with England – will be a new face at Carrington, as will Carrick’s ex-Middlesbrough coaching colleague Jonathan Woodgate.
Woodgate was, of course, a former international player himself, representing Leeds United and Real Madrid among others, before moving into the dugout with Boro and Bournemouth.
Travis Binnion and Jonny Evans helped out Darren Fletcher during his short stint as interim and will continue in their roles, with Binnion providing a link to our Academy, as the previous Under-21s’ head coach, and Evans obviously bringing a wealth of United expertise to the table, having represented the club as a player up until last May.
Craig Mawson will also continue as goalkeeping coach and Carrick has been explaining his backroom to Inside Carrington, the club’s official podcast.
“Yeah, [getting the coaching balance right] was probably the most important thing,”
he said.
“To be honest, I know a lot about the club. It has changed a little bit since I left, but I think in some ways that's a good thing, you know, the freshness.
“I think that was important with the staff and to be strong and to be able to do different things and pull on different characters, different dynamics within that - different experiences, as well. And I'm really delighted.
“Steve's got an unbelievable wealth of experience, massive experiences at Chelsea in terms of going through similar situations to this - change of manager and coach - and dealing with that and keeping and staying successful.
“Jonathan, I've known and he's loyal. He's very knowledgeable. He's the perfect balance to me personally, I think that's important, you know, I don't want all the same. He challenges me, pushes me, and he has done for the last three years - and he'll keep doing that.
“Trav, I think this club's about young players, you know, and producing young players and having the line with the Academy and a pathway and understanding what it means and helping the young players, developing the young players, working with the young players and pushing the young players when they need a push. He's going to have a massive part of that.
“And Jonny, obviously he's someone who's close to me and everything he stands for, I respect and I appreciate. He's got unbelievable knowledge. He's come through the whole thing. He's in this football club and he gets it.
“He understands the day to day, and he’s got a massive amount of experience to then pass on to the players as well. So I think there's a real balance of personalities, of characters, of knowledge and experience. And I'm really, really happy with what we're going into because it's a big job, a big role.
“There’s a lot of work to do, and we feel that we can do it.”