Carrick Dismisses Easy Start as Manchester United Prepare for Challenges

Michael Carrick wants no part of the idea that Manchester United have been handed a gentle introduction to the new season. Hull away, Ipswich at home – two newly promoted sides, on paper a soft landing. He sees something very different.

“For all of us to know this league, there’s no favourable start, I think it’s a tough start,” he said, pushing back firmly at the suggestion that the fixture list has been kind. “A promoted team away from home is a tough game.”

United open at Hull on Saturday before welcoming Ipswich to Old Trafford a week on Sunday. Both opponents are riding the momentum of promotion, and Carrick has lived enough of these occasions to know exactly what that means.

“I’ve been involved in them in the past so I’m fully aware of what’s coming at us on Saturday, what we’ve got to be ready for,” he said. “So it’s not favourable. It’s an easy thing to throw out there. But it’s pretty ridiculous in a certain way, [we are] not taking it that way at all.”

The message is clear: no complacency, no excuses.

From stabiliser to contender?

Carrick transformed United’s season after stepping in as interim manager in January, guiding them to third place and earning the job permanently four months later. That surge has inevitably sparked a bigger question: can this team go from resurgence to title challenge in one leap?

“It is going to be a jump,” the 45-year-old admitted. “I would never say we can’t – I don’t believe that. But it’s about what we are capable of doing as a group.”

The run that carried United into the top three last season underpins his belief. It also sets a demanding standard.

“The run of form we had last season gives us a lot of confidence, but we know there is a whole new step to make. We are pushing to do that. It’s exciting. We have the potential to achieve things and we will definitely give it everything we can. We have to believe we are a good team and can do good things.”

Belief, though, must be backed by depth.

Transfers, gaps and a race against the window

Behind the scenes, United are still working to give Carrick the tools to sustain a title tilt. The club are hopeful of striking a deal with Brighton for midfielder Carlos Baleba, and want to do it for under £75m as they juggle budget and priorities. A left-back is also on the shopping list before the window shuts.

“We are looking to strengthen the squad, working towards that,” Carrick said. “We are trying to make the most of the opportunities to finish the window stronger than we went into it and are in a good way to doing that so far.”

The squad that finished last season so strongly may not be the one that has to carry the full weight of expectation this time. But there are immediate concerns too.

Mason Mount is a doubt for the trip to Hull after taking a knock, his availability “in the balance” as Carrick weighs up his options for the opener.

So United head into a new campaign with optimism, scars from seasons past, and a manager refusing to let anyone label their start as easy. If this really is the year they make that “jump” he talks about, it will have to begin in the noise and hostility of a promoted side’s first day back in the big time.