Michael Carrick to manage Manchester United for rest of season

Michael Carrick has been announced as the new interim head coach of Manchester United.

This means he will temporarily take charge of the Red Devils until the end of the season.

Carrick replaces Ruben Amorim, who was sacked by the north-west club at the start of January after 14 months in the job.

Carrick's first game as manager will be Saturday's Premier League derby against Manchester City at Old Trafford.

In a club statement announcing the news, Carrick said that it was an "honour" having the responsibility to lead Manchester United.

He added: "I know what it takes to succeed here; my focus is now on helping the players to reach the standards that we expect at this incredible club, which we know that this group is more than capable of producing."

It's not the first time that Carrick has taken charge as interim boss at United.

The 44-year-old had a three-game stint as the club's temporary boss after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in 2021.

Carrick also spent twelve years as a midfielder at the north-west side, playing 464 games in all competitions for United, before retiring in 2018.

More recently, Carrick went on to become manager of Championship side Middlesbrough for three seasons.

United are currently seventh in the Premier League table but have recently had a difficult run of results.

They have had one win in their last seven games, and at the weekend the club lost their third-round FA Cup match against Brighton.

This means that they are now out of both domestic cup competitions, and with no European football either, United only have Premier League fixtures for the rest of the season.

However, Carrick said it's still all to play for.

"There is still a lot to fight for this season, we are ready to pull everyone together and give the fans the performances that their loyal support deserves," he explained.