--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-06-09T18:31:01.417Z last_updated: 2026-06-09T15:55:00+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/manchester-united/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWFuY2hlc3RlcmV2ZW5pbmduZXdzLmNvLnVrL3Nwb3J0L2Zvb3RiYWxsL21pY2hhZWwtY2Fycmljay1jYW4tZmluZC1tYW5jaGVzdGVyLTM0MDg5MDQ2 --- # Carrick will be successful next season if he copies Solskjaer at Man United - **Source:** - **Published:** 9 Jun - **Club:** Manchester United - **Original URL:** https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/michael-carrick-can-find-manchester-34089046 Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Erik ten Hag all secured qualification for the Champions League by guiding United into the top four, but none repeated the feat in the following campaign. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the only United boss in the post-Ferguson era to have secured successive top-four finishes, and the Norwegian might have made it three seasons in a row had Cristiano Ronaldo not been signed. Get the best United news, updates and analysis straight to your Inbox courtesy of the Manchester Evening News! To get it, it's a simple one-two punch. Speaking about Ronaldo's transfer a few years ago, Solskjaer admitted it had a negative impact. "It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down, and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong," he said. Next season, Michael Carrick has the opportunity to become the second United boss since Ferguson retired to achieve back-to-back top four finishes, which should be the measure of success in his first full season. There has been talk of United mounting a Premier League title charge next term. The logic underpinning that argument is that United finished third, and therefore should look upwards, as Carrick himself has said. “First of all, I'd like to say a huge congratulations to Arsenal and Mikel and the players and all the staff. I think when you win the league, you win the league because you deserve it," Carrick said before the final game of the season. "So much over such a long period of time needs to be done so well in order to win it. So, they've been really consistent over a number of years now and the patience and the improvement that they've had, they've taken steps. "I think they're at a stage now where they deserve to win it. As a football club of course that's where we want to be. We've been there in the past and it doesn't mean necessarily you'll always be there again, but that's certainly as a football club what we're striving for as soon as possible really.” Carrick understands where United should be and preached that returning to the Champions League should not be over-celebrated, but returning the club to the top is a process. When asked about closing the gap to Arsenal and Manchester City, he said: “There's always improvement, I think, within the squad, of course. Certain things you want to tweak, certain things, which we have done as we've progressed. "I think we've got a really good foundation of a squad and a good mixture of age in different stages of their careers. I think we've proved that we're really dangerous and we can score goals, which is exciting and encouraging moving forward." United are at the start of a new process of building a title-challenging team now that Carrick has been appointed on a permanent basis. Ruben Amorim put in some foundations by adding quality and banishing bad eggs, but Carrick has picked up the baton and taken the team to another level. Aston Villa will be hopeful of fighting at the top of the table again, and Chelsea can only improve after a dismal campaign. The likes of Bournemouth and Newcastle will be around the European places, and even Tottenham should be better next term, with Roberto De Zerbi backed in the transfer market. The good news is that United will also strengthen in the transfer market, and Carrick's interim spell offers hope for another uplifting campaign given he won more points than any other Premier League manager during his stint. He oversaw impressive victories against City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool, meaning he outfoxed the likes of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery and Slot. Carrick is confident of another strong season. He is targeting improvement, which means finishing better than third, but simply securing a top four finish again would be a success, provided United have decent runs in the Champions League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup. Next season should be about consolidation for Carrick. United have far too regularly dropped out of the Champions League after playing a season in the competition, which he must avoid happening again. Anyone who is seriously judging Carrick on whether United come close to winning the title next season needs to alter their expectations. The fact that Solskjaer is the only United boss in the post-Ferguson era to secure successive top four finishes shows how challenging it is. Carrick would not take a top-four finish and good runs in the cup competitions if that could be offered at the start of the season, though. He is ambitious, but he shouldn't be seen as a failure if a title challenge is not mounted. Arsenal are the blueprint in many ways. Arteta built a side that consistently finished near the top of the Premier League, which eventually put them in a position to challenge for the title in this campaign. United could seriously win the title in 2027/2028 if they consolidate under Carrick next season.