Jose Mourinho Supports Michael Carrick Amidst Manchester United Turmoil
The mood around Old Trafford has turned uneasy, but one of the club’s most decorated recent managers is standing firmly behind the man in the dugout.
Michael Carrick, promoted from interim to permanent Manchester United boss after steering the club to third place and a return to the Champions League, has stumbled into the 2026/27 campaign. The glow of that stabilising spell has faded quickly. The scrutiny has not.
From calm to questions
Carrick’s permanent appointment felt like a reward for clarity and control. He had steadied a drifting side, pushed them back into Europe’s elite, and restored a measure of belief inside a restless stadium.
This season has jolted that narrative.
An opening-day defeat to newly-promoted Hull City set nerves jangling. A late, draining draw with Everton followed, two points dropped that felt like a punch to the gut rather than a platform. Then came Sunday: a 1-0 loss to 10-man Manchester City, the kind of derby result that echoes around the club for days.
United have scored freely at times. A 5-2 win over Ipswich Town and a comfortable victory against Sabah FK in the Champions League showed there is still attacking power in this squad. Yet those matches have not soothed the wider anxiety. Performances have drifted, intensity has flickered, and the sense of a coherent step forward has been hard to grasp.
Carrick has tried to keep the gaze fixed ahead, insisting United are not dwelling on early setbacks and are instead locked in on the next fixtures. The calendar, though, offers little room for error.
A cup tie against Brighton & Hove Albion looms, followed by a league meeting with Fulham. Fail in either, and the temperature around Carrick’s position will rise sharply. Succeed, and he buys time, not total peace.
Mourinho’s verdict
Into this tense backdrop stepped Jose Mourinho, the man who once trusted Carrick as part of his own staff at United and now leads Real Madrid.
Asked for his view on his former assistant’s work at Old Trafford, Mourinho did not reach for complexity or caveats.
"He's doing well Michael, doing well," he said. "I'm happy with that."
Short, pointed, and supportive. No tactical breakdown, no public lecture. Just a clear endorsement from a coach who knows exactly how unforgiving the United job can be.
Mourinho’s words carry weight at Old Trafford. During his spell in charge from May 2016 to December 2018, he oversaw 144 matches and delivered three trophies: the Community Shield, the Europa League and the League Cup. In a post-Sir Alex Ferguson era short on silverware, that record still stands out.
When Mourinho left, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer chose to keep Carrick on his staff, another sign of the respect the former midfielder commands inside the club’s walls.
Now Carrick stands alone on the touchline, the decisions his and his alone, the judgement harsher and more public. Mourinho’s backing will not shield him from results, nor silence a fanbase demanding progress, but it does underline one thing.
In the eyes of a serial winner, Carrick is on the right path. The question is whether the next week – Brighton, then Fulham – allows him to stay on it.
