Bruno Fernandes Backs Michael Carrick as Manchester United Manager

Bruno Fernandes has nailed his colours to the Manchester United mast and thrown his weight firmly behind Michael Carrick’s reign, insisting he is “here to serve” whoever sits in the dugout – and hoping it is the man already there.

The United captain, fresh from equalling a Premier League record with his 20th assist of the season in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest, spoke as Carrick edges closer to being confirmed as permanent manager. A broad agreement is in place for the 44-year-old to stay on, with club sources describing the deal as a question of “when rather than if”.

On Tuesday night in London, the dynamic between the pair was hard to miss. Carrick, the caretaker-turned-front-runner, presented the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award to Fernandes, his on‑field standard-bearer. One man on the stage, one man on the pitch, both now at the heart of United’s attempt to haul themselves back to the top.

Fernandes has long championed Carrick’s coaching credentials and did not soften his stance as the finishing touches are applied to the agreement.

“I spoke a lot of times about him,” he said. “I already said many things about how good he could be as a manager in the past, so I think those words are still there.”

Then came the line that will echo around Old Trafford. “Obviously, it’s not in my hands deciding who’s going to be the next manager. I’m here to serve the club, whether that is a manager that comes in, or if he stays, I will serve them in the same way.”

The message was clear: no politicking, no conditions. The captain is all‑in, and he wants Carrick to be the man he follows.

Asked outright whether Carrick can take United back to the summit of English football, Fernandes did not duck.

“I hope so, if he stays. I hope he’s one that can take us back to the top of the Premier League because this is what all the players want.”

The numbers behind that hope are starting to build. Since Ruben Amorim’s departure in January, Carrick has quietly stitched together an impressive run: 11 wins from 16 matches in charge. Performances have sharpened, the mood has lifted, and on Sunday, as United edged Forest in a five-goal thriller at Old Trafford, the home crowd made their preference known with loud backing for the head coach.

The pressure finally told off the pitch as well. What began as an interim solution has gathered momentum into something more substantial, and the club now stands on the brink of confirming a manager who has already begun to reshape its short-term fortunes.

There is a twist to this campaign, though. United’s season, which ends with a trip to Brighton on Sunday, will be their shortest in 111 years: just 40 games. No deep cup runs, no extra European dates. A stripped-back schedule that has laid bare both their flaws and their potential.

On the south coast, Carrick will take charge of his 17th game, one more chance to reinforce his case before the ink dries on the contract everyone at the club expects him to sign. Fernandes will lead the team out again, the playmaker who has matched the Premier League single-season assists record and the captain who has publicly tied his ambitions to the man on the touchline.

United’s hierarchy are treating Carrick’s appointment as inevitable. Their captain is treating it as essential. The only question now is whether this partnership can do what the club has failed to do for over a decade: turn promise, and a strong finish, into a sustained assault on the very top of the Premier League.