Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Reaction to Man Utd Job Snub Revealed

The Norwegian’s long association with the club made him a big favourite.

Michael Carrick (left) got the nod instead of his former teammate. | Andrew Kearns/CameraSport/Getty Images

Michael Carrick revealed Ole Gunnar Solskjær has been in contact to wish him well at Manchester United having missed out on the interim manager’s position to his former teammate.

Carrick’s tenure, which is slated to run until the end of the 2025–26 season, got off to the perfect start last weekend, with rivals Manchester City outplayed, outgunned and outthought in a 2–0 defeat at Old Trafford.

The former England midfielder was appointed by United instead of Solskjær—the Norwegian had been a leading contender to return to the club for which he played for 11 years and managed for three—and his remit is to try and lead United into next season’s Champions League—a competition both he and Carrick won as players.

Carrick previously worked as part of Solskjær’s coaching team at United, so it’s perhaps no surprise the two have been in contact after going head-to-head for the role.

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Carrick: Solskjaer Always There if I Need Him

Michael Carrick’s reign got off to the best possible start. | Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images

“Yes, I spoke to him,” Carrick confirmed ahead of United’s clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday. “I’m close, we’ve been through a lot together, so he’s been fully supportive as you’d expect. He’s some man and I respect him an awful lot. He wished us all the best and he was happy that we got the right result against Manchester City.”

“With friendships, you have conversations,” he continued, having been probed on whether he’d contact Solskjær for advice. “I’ve got a lot of friends in places that I can kind of pick on if I need to be. I’m not one that bothers a lot of people, to be honest. But he’s certainly there if I ever need him.”

One of Carrick’s first decisions was to restore Kobbie Mainoo to United’s starting lineup for the derby against City, and he was rewarded for his faith in the 20-year-old as the energetic midfielder disrupted the flow of the former eight-time Premier League winners with an all-action display.

He also opted to continue implementing the 4-2-3-1 system previous caretaker Darren Fletcher had used, fully abandoning the patented 3-4-2-1 formation that former manager Ruben Amorim had been desperate to make work.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Kobbie, I think I’ve known him since he was younger,” Carrick told the media in his pre-Arsenal presser. “I think I started working with him when he was 13, 14 years old, when I was going through my badges myself.

“I’ve said it before: this club needs young players coming through and being the foundation, to understand what it means not just for the players or the squad, but for the club and for the supporters.”

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Arsenal to Provide Big Test of Carrick’s Credentials

Arsenal were victorious in midweek away at Inter. | Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto/Getty Images

United, to the surprise of many, not only beat City last weekend but were clearly the better team. They surrendered the vast majority of possession to their ball-hungry foes (32% to 68%) but were supremely organised with their press and harried City into making a number of mistakes.

They nullified the threat of Erling Haaland up front, too—so much so that City’s hitman was withdrawn after 80 minutes with just 14 touches of the ball to his name.

The calibre of opponent is equally as high with Arsenal not only top of the Premier League table but also top of the Champions League league phase table with seven wins from seven games.

“It’s a big challenge, you know... they’ve got so many strong points to their game, and to their squad,” Carrick said. “They are where they are for a reason and where they are in the Champions League for a reason, so we’re fully aware of that and not taking that lightly at all.

“We feel we’re in a good place and we’re looking forward to the game, so it’s where we want to be, with that real positive energy and enthusiasm, to go there and be positive, but for sure we know it's not going to come easy.”

One added incentive for United is knowing that victory at Emirates Stadium would catapult them above rivals Liverpool in the table. The Premier League champions came unstuck at Bournemouth on Saturday night, going down to a 95th-minute winner from Amine Adli.

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