Michael Carrick insists no ‘toxic culture’ at Manchester United: ‘There’s a lot of togetherness’

Michael Carrick insists he has not experienced a toxic culture at Manchester United since his return as head coach.

Carrick also said he feels the backing from United’s board and has good communication with all the relevant people in the hierarchy.

Erik ten Hag, United’s manager from 2022 to 2024, told The Athletic he wrestled with a “toxic culture” in the dressing room due to not being supported on matters of ill-discipline following the investment and takeover of sporting control by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS.

His successor Ruben Amorim also voiced displeasure at player practices, stating: “The way you walk, the way you talk, the way you eat, the way you train, if all these standards aren’t up to the right levels, you will not play.”

Lisandro Martinez publicly criticised the club’s executives over their transfer policy after the 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid last Tuesday, highlighting the job of technical director Jason Wilcox.

But Carrick, who took over from Amorim in January, said he has encountered a dressing room of determined players, pointing to the effort at Leeds United on Sunday as the latest example. “I haven’t since I came back,” Carrick told a press conference on Tuesday when asked if he had found any toxic traits at the club.

“The players, the staff, they’ve given us everything that they could give. We’ve had some good performances, we’ve had some performances that we want to do better, we can improve on, we’ve made some mistakes. That’s football and that’s pushing performance.

“If you haven’t got a good group, the type of performance, I’m not talking about the level, but the type of performance that the boys put into the weekend and showed an athletic go for large parts, and what the feeling that we have, there’s a lot of togetherness there, there’s a lot of will, there’s a lot of determination to do better and wanting to do it for each other, which is important. In that regard for the group, I couldn’t be happier with the togetherness.”

Ten Hag also said he had suffered broken promises from the football leadership under Ratcliffe’s reign, following talks in June 2024 when his contract was extended by a year. Ten Hag was sacked four months later.

Carrick is facing scrutiny himself with United winning only two of ten games in all competitions this season, but said he feels the faith from above, including from chief executive Omar Berrada, after guiding United to third in the Premier League last term. He declined to go into Ten Hag’s comments on the topic.

“That’s Erik’s opinion, it’s totally wrong for me to comment or get involved, it’s nothing to do with me at that stage,” he said. “Results dictate the feeling and the positivity or not so positive (feel) around the place, so a lot of it comes down to that, but within the group and as a team we’re pretty composed, but driven. We’re pretty stable, we’ve got to think calmly and keep our emotions directed in the right way.

“There’s certain conversations we have that we’re really clear with Jason, with Omar, with the owners, and down to the players. It’s really important we’re all pulling in the same direction.”

He added: “I don’t need any reassurance. It’s pretty clear. I know the role, I know my responsibilities. I don’t need anyone else to tell me that, or tell me when it’s going well or when it needs to be better. I know that myself. I know the realities and I’ve got no problem with that. I know we’ve got to win football games for everything to flow and everything to fall into place. That’s the great thing about it. We can do something about it.”

Carrick insists he feels backed. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m in this position, I have a really good relationship with everyone, everybody at the football club,” he said. “There’s really no issues and no problems with any of that side.”

Winning at Como in the Champions League on Wednesday would lift the mood, but Carrick will have to conjure a result without several first-team players, including five defenders in Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven, Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu. It leaves Harry Maguire as the only fit senior centre-back who has played regularly. Matthijs de Ligt is also in the squad, but he has not featured since last November due to a back injury.

Yoro is suspended after his red card in Madrid, while Marcus Rashford is out because of a hip injury. Kobbie Mainoo and Benjamin Sesko are also sidelined.

“Licha’s not too bad, but he’s not with us, so we’ll have to see whether he’s ready for the weekend or not,” Carrick said. “Kobbie, we’re probably looking at another maybe 10 days or so, but not exact. Luke a little bit longer than that. Ayden’s ill and Marcus is still feeling a little bit of a hip issue.”