Carrick back in Norway with Solskjaer reunion
Michael Carrick was reunited with Ole Gunnar Solksjaer in Norway this week, just months after beating him to the manager’s job at Old Trafford. The Premier League side have been in Norway over the past few days as part of their pre-season preparations.
The Red Devils took on Rosenborg on Friday and secured a 5-0 success, with Shea Lacey, Joshua Zirkzee, Jacob Devaney, Harry Amass and Ethan Williams all finding the net.
Away from taking on the Norwegians, United boss Carrick also had more on his mind. As per the Manchester Evening News, he met up with former head coach Solskjaer. The pair are thought to have a close relationship, despite Carrick having beaten the former forward to the top job at Old Trafford last season. It was suggested that Solskjaer was in talks regarding a second stint in charge. But Red Devils chiefs opted for Carrick instead and he was handed the job on a permanent basis after 12 wins from 17 games - form that was good enough to see United seal a spot back in the Champions League.
Carrick’s reunion with Solskjaer comes after he admitted that he had sought after advice from the Norwegian ahead of officially taking the reins at Old Trafford.
Speaking earlier this year, he said:
“Yeah, yeah I’ve spoken to him. We’re close, we’ve been through a lot together. He’s been fully supportive, as you’d expect. He’s some man, I respect him an awful lot. He wished us all the best, and he was happy that we got the right result.
“I think, friendships, you have conversations… I’ve got a lot of friends in places that I can pick on if I need to. I’m not that one that bothers a lot of people to be honest, but… He’s certainly there if ever I need.”
Speaking after United’s emphatic victory against Rosenborg, Carrick said:
“Clean sheet, scoring goals, and everyone, by the looks of it, coming through injury-free is what you want at this stage, really.
“As much as we want everything to improve and performances to be better all the time, I think keeping players fit and progressing through pre-season is as important as anything.
“So, two games in, two weeks in, I think we can take where we are and we’re pretty happy. The second half, the younger players coming on, I thought they were fantastic. They played as a team really well and deserve what they got second half.”
“It’s important to build through this pre-season, some players need more minutes than others as they go and we’re managing some players a little bit more than others. I've said it before the game, it's never going to be perfect, two weeks in and you're kind of building towards that.
“So, I thought there was a lot of good things, some of the goals were fantastic goals and it’s just as pleasing to keep a clean sheet. So yeah, we’re moving forward nicely.”
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