Carrick: England win would boost United

It was there that we caught up with first-team coach Michael Carrick after Friday's session for the players who are not either still trying to win Copa America or Euro 2020 or taking their holidays after exiting those tournaments.

Carrick's current work on the training ground, and past experience as an England midfielder, made him the perfect man to speak to as we talked both club and country ahead of two finals this weekend - for Fred in Brazil on Saturday night and Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw at Wembley on Sunday...

Michael, first of all, is it good to be back in pre-season, and is it slightly easier or harder as a coach than a player?
"It's great to be back. It's different on the sidelines, shouting at them to run faster - I used to be the one running! Ah, it's not like that really, but yeah it's nice to be back. There's always a freshness about the first week back, we've got a lot of the younger players in and around the group this week and it's always nice to spend time with them, have a look at them and give them some help where we can. Yeah, there's always a real nice freshness about that first week back in pre-season and building for the weeks ahead."

With some players still away, how important is it for the young players who could make a real mark this week? Is it a big opportunity for them?
"It is, yeah. They're trying to build their careers, create a pathway for themselves, and we say it all the time to them: 'Don't waste a day, don't waste a training session', because you just never know where that's going to take you. Any impression, especially when the manager and the coaches are watching, is so, so important. It's a great opportunity - obviously they're not going to be judged over one training session - but it's something that can trigger something that goes onto something bigger, so hopefully they come in and enjoy it. Most of them have been in and around the group already and we know them well but yeah, I think if you ask any seasoned professional, the pre-season at some point with the first team when they were a younger player was a kind of instigator for their career. Hopefully that'll be the case for the boys involved with us over the next few weeks."

Last year's pre-season was just a couple of weeks really. How different might it be this time?
"Massively different. Last year, you couldn't really call it a pre-season, it was kind of just taking off from where we'd left off before. This one is different. Us as coaches and the staff have had a good break. It was a challenging season last season, just for the fact that the games came so thick and fast. Obviously we finished with the slight disappointment of the [Europa League] final but all in all it was a good season for us so naturally you need to refresh, regroup, think a little bit and come again. This is the time, this is the fresh pre-season, a good five or six weeks until the first game. Yeah of course we'd love everyone back on the first day and have everyone together and there's a challenge in that - the success of the national team obviously gives us a little bit more of a challenge but that's how it is - but it's a good pre-season, there are some good games for us and we're looking forward to it."

What would you say about how England have done over the last few weeks?
"I think they've done tremendously. For being in the position that they're in now, I'm so pleased for them. Of course there's another step to go and I don't want to get too carried away and I'm sure they're not getting too carried away, but the experiences that they've had over the last 10 days or so will be ones that they remember forever. From a personal, selfish point of view from the club, to see them doing well, experiencing big games, hopefully winning something like that, that can rub off on us, bring those experiences back to share with the group and hopefully it'll bring some success for us as well. So it's two-fold really, I'm pleased for them as individuals and pleased for us because we'll have them back in good form for the start of the season."

You know what it's like to play for your country at a major tournament. How do you think they're handling it?
"They're in the final so they've handled it great. Being at Wembley obviously gives a different challenge, there are positives and there are slight negatives in the fact there are expectations but, to be honest, it's not really negative, it's what you thrive on, it's where you want to be as a player. It's the stuff of dreams for an England player to be involved in a home semi-final and home final on the back of a pandemic when everyone's been shut off from each other. To see the atmosphere over the last couple of games at Wembley has been incredible. I'm sure Sunday will be even greater than that. I just hope the lads and the team can finish the job off."