Michael Carrick commends Travis Binnion and his coaching team for their outstanding efforts at Carrington, driving Manchester United’s recent success.
Carrick’s Impressive Interim Tenure
Carrick secures 16 points from a possible 18 since taking over as interim head coach. The 44-year-old earns the Premier League Manager of the Month award for January. Upon receiving the honor, Carrick states: “Let’s be honest, it’s not just about me really. It’s about everyone, you know: it’s about the staff, the coaching staff, the backroom staff, the players definitely.”
Coaching Staff’s Impact
The coaching team makes a significant difference. Steve Holland serves as Carrick’s assistant, while Jonathan Woodgate, Jonny Evans, and Binnion contribute as first-team coaches. Observers note strong chemistry among the backroom staff during training sessions.
Before joining Carrick’s team, Binnion holds the role of head of player development and coaching in the academy. He manages the Under-21s and assists Darren Fletcher during his caretaker stint. Following the 1-0 victory over Everton, Benjamin Sesko credits Binnion for personalized coaching support.
The staff emphasizes one-on-one sessions to boost specific players, with Binnion playing a central role.
Carrick on Individual Development
Carrick highlights the coaches’ contributions: “The coaches are doing some really great work. You know, I’m sitting here and kind of answering the questions, but there’s a lot of work that goes on kind of underneath that.”
He adds: “And it’s been a big focus of ours, to be honest, in terms of individuals and narrowing things down and trying to help the players. I think I spoke that from the start, trying to develop them and Trav’s been a big part of that in so many ways, as Steve, Woody and Johnny have and Craig [Pawson].”
Carrick explains the approach: “I think it’s a bit of everything really, a little bit on the pitch, a little bit one-on-one, a little bit in the meeting room. And as much as everything, just conversations and relationships and connections and support, you know, is I think is important. Like we try and provide for all the players.”
“It’s not always easy to just flick a switch and perform. So there’s so many different elements that we try and provide the support and help for to get improvement and trying to push the players to be better. And I think we’ve made some good gains in some of those instances.”
On Binnion’s work with forwards, Carrick clarifies: “We kind of split it up. Naturally, it takes its course, I think.”
“Any coaching team you try and spread it. So, again, building relationships a little bit, having eyes on certain things, and I think it helps with the players to know and feel that connection with certain coaches, to then really kind of invest in that improvement process, really.”
“And so Trav has done a bit of work, quite a bit of work with the forwards, sometimes as a unit, sometimes as a group, sometimes as individuals, so it’s just constant, really, and trying to keep improving.”
Team Evolution and Upcoming Challenge
Carrick views the team’s style as continually evolving: “I think it always evolves, you know, it’s never perfect. I’ve said that I’ve always kind of hoped for more.”
He reflects: “I think part of it’s understanding of how kind of little time we’ve kind of been together and sometimes it’s going to go well and there’s going to be times where it doesn’t quite click so much.”
“I think not to be over-picky and over-harsh on certain things and actually taking perspective and a bigger picture is important for us. But yeah, I think we’re in a good place.”
“In some ways we’ve made big strides, winning games that we might not have won at other times, played some good football at times, things to improve at times. Defending really, really well a lot of the time, and you know, keeping clean sheets, so there’s lots of positives. There are so many layers of levels that we feel we can get to as a group, so we’ll just keep pushing for that.”
Carrick targets a seventh win against Crystal Palace on Sunday. Oliver Glasner faces him from the opposing bench, but Carrick dismisses any personal rivalry: “Honestly, no, no, it doesn’t make any difference whatsoever.”
“It’s total respect for Crystal Palace and Oliver. It’s the next game for us. We’re in a position where we found ourselves at, and we were in a decent spot, and we would feel like we’re moving forwards.”
“And it’s just about what’s in front of us, and trying to get to where we want to be, which is a little bit higher up the league, so that’s literally all that that I’m worried about in the moment.”
