Carrick rejects reluctance claims as All or Nothing filming raises United dressing room fears

Michael Carrick has firmly rejected claims he was reluctant to return to management, as Manchester United’s troubled start to the season is compounded by reports that filming for Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary series is undermining dressing room communication at Old Trafford.

Club legend Nicky Butt recently suggested that Carrick had confided in him following his departure from Middlesbrough in 2025 that management was no longer for him. The 45-year-old United boss was swift to dismiss that characterisation, insisting he is fully committed to his role. Butt made the remarks on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, recalling a conversation in which Carrick reportedly expressed reservations about returning to the dugout before accepting the Old Trafford position.

Separately, The Sun has reported that United players are concerned the presence of documentary camera crews is affecting the honesty of post-match debriefs. According to the report, squad members feel that “punches are being pulled” during internal discussions, with the cameras inhibiting the kind of frank exchanges that can help a side correct problems on the pitch. United are set to be the latest Premier League club to feature in the All or Nothing series, following Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

Carrick addressed the documentary filming in August, playing down its impact on day-to-day operations. “That’s been fine. It’s obviously a little bit new, and unique, but the actual day-to-day workings of it, we have that many cameras around anyway that the boys are kind of half-used to it,” he said. “We’ve got to work through it, of course, but they’ve been respectful. It probably seems bigger from the outside than it is day-to-day when we’re working in it.”

United’s difficult start to the campaign has piled pressure on Carrick, who returned to Old Trafford in January and initially guided the club up the standings to secure a Champions League place. That momentum has since stalled despite significant summer investment in midfielders Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. Whether the documentary’s presence is a genuine factor in the team’s struggles or a convenient narrative remains to be seen, but the reports add another layer of scrutiny to a club already under the spotlight.