Carrick Dismisses Claims of Easy Start for Manchester United
Michael Carrick is having none of it. Talk of Manchester United getting an “easy” launch to the new Premier League season? He calls it what he thinks it is: “pretty ridiculous.”
United open with a Saturday lunchtime trip to newly-promoted Hull City, then host another top-flight newcomer, Ipswich Town, at Old Trafford a week later. On paper, some see a gentle easing-in. Carrick sees a trap.
“First of all, for all of us now, this league, there's no favourable start,” he said, firmly. “I think it's a tough start. Both teams, but not getting past Saturday. I think a newly-promoted team, away from home, is a tough, tough game. I've been involved in them in the past.”
He knows exactly what awaits in those tight, noisy opening-day away grounds. “Fully aware of what's at stake, what's coming at us on Saturday, what we've got to be ready for,” he added. “So, it's not favourable. I think it's an easy thing to throw out there, but it's pretty ridiculous in a certain way and I'm not taking it that way at all.”
This is Carrick’s first full season as permanent manager at Old Trafford. There’s no appetite for excuses, and certainly no interest in narratives that his side have been handed a free run out of the blocks.
Sesko and Darlow ready to return
The team sheet, at least, is starting to look stronger.
Benjamin Sesko and new goalkeeper Karl Darlow are both expected to be part of the travelling squad after finally shaking off their issues and returning to full training this week. Neither played a minute in United’s six pre-season friendlies, but both are now available.
For Sesko, it has been a long wait. The 23-year-old striker has been out since early May with a shin injury picked up against Liverpool, a setback that wiped out his entire pre-season.
“Ben is back training, so that is another positive,” Carrick said. “Looking forward to having him back around the group and getting him some minutes.”
No fanfare, just a clear plan: get him on the grass, then get him up to speed.
Mount ‘touch and go’ but backed to shine
Mason Mount’s situation is more delicate. The midfielder is “touch and go” for Hull after suffering a foot injury in the 1-1 pre-season draw with Paris Saint-Germain.
His time at Old Trafford so far has been defined by interruptions. Since joining the club, he has managed just 72 appearances across three seasons, a stop-start existence that has never allowed him to settle into a rhythm.
Carrick, though, is emphatic about his quality.
“First of all, Mason's a top player, top player,” he said. “We've seen that so far in the pre-season. He was one of our best players in the early stages in the games that he played and I thought he was fantastic. So not surprising, it's what I've seen before, what I expect, what I know of him.”
The message is clear: when Mount plays, he delivers. The challenge is keeping him on the pitch.
“Of course, he's missed some football over recent years and he wants to be fit, he wants to be in that full rhythm and he wants to stay fit,” Carrick added. “So we're doing our best to help him do that, but he's a top player, Mase. Mason will be back very, very soon, if not immediately, so it's all good.”
Rhythm. Consistency. Minutes. For Mount, those are the targets now, not headlines.
Rashford reborn and ready
If Mount is still fighting the stop-start cycle, Marcus Rashford is trying to ride a very different wave.
Back from a successful loan spell at Barcelona and previously frozen out under former managers, the 28-year-old has rejoined United’s pre-season with a point to prove. Carrick has liked what he’s seen.
“Marcus has come back fantastically well,” he said. “He's enjoying his football, he looks fit, sharp, strong, and ready to play.”
Rashford is now in contention to make his Premier League return for United at Hull, and his manager clearly sees him as a major weapon again. The forward has long been associated with the left flank, but Carrick hinted at a broader brief.
Playing through the middle “might not be his primary role,” Carrick admitted, yet that option changes the entire shape of United’s attack. His ability to operate centrally adds another layer of flexibility to a forward line that could now feature Sesko, a rejuvenated Rashford, and a fully trusted Mount just behind them when fit.
Carrick has dismissed talk of an easy start. His squad, slowly but surely, is taking shape. Now comes the only judgment that matters: what they do when the whistle blows at Hull.
