Carrick reveals regular contact with Ferguson and Solskjaer as United face worst start in 40 years

Michael Carrick is leaning on the counsel of Sir Alex Ferguson and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United’s season deteriorates, with the head coach confirming regular conversations with both men ahead of Sunday’s Premier League visit to Bournemouth.

United’s campaign has unravelled to the point where they are enduring their worst start to a league season in 40 years. A 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League on Wednesday deepened the crisis and, according to reports, the club is now actively weighing managerial alternatives in preparation for a potential sacking.

“I speak to both of them quite regularly, to be honest,” Carrick said of Ferguson and Solskjaer. “There’s nothing in particular from that. I’m close to both of them and we do have regular conversations. It’s nothing different this week.”

Ferguson signed Carrick as a player, while Solskjaer brought him into the coaching staff during his own tenure at Old Trafford, giving both men a personal stake in his development as a manager.

Before Friday’s pre-match press conference, Carrick delivered an unscheduled address to the assembled media — a rallying cry that drew on the club’s history and called on his players to take collective responsibility for the results.

Asked why he chose to speak before taking questions, Carrick was direct: “Because I understand the situation, you know, I fully understand the situation and I understand my position and I know what this football club means to so, so many people.”

He was careful, however, to frame history as a source of inspiration rather than an entitlement. “Please don’t say that the history is one thing and that’s why. It doesn’t give you the right to keep winning. Teams that win earn the right to win. So it’s important that we draw inspiration from the history and the past of what’s gone on. But our responsibility is to carry that forward and it’s so, so important to me that we do that.”

Sunday’s match at Bournemouth now carries enormous weight. A defeat would almost certainly accelerate the club’s decision-making over Carrick’s future, leaving the former England midfielder with little margin for error as he attempts to arrest one of the most alarming starts in the club’s modern history.