Sir Alex Ferguson’s closest ally shows true colours with Michael Carrick message | Football | Sport

Sir Alex Ferguson‘s former assistant Rene Meulensteen has extended an offer to lend his knowledge to Michael Carrick during his temporary tenure as Manchester United‘s caretaker manager. Carrick took charge of the Red Devils earlier this week, stepping up to lead the team until the end of the season. His task is to secure European qualification whilst the club searches for a permanent manager.

With United positioned as near to 12th as they are to fourth spot, there’s virtually no margin for error. Meulensteen, who worked alongside Ferguson as his assistant between 2008 and 2013, has confirmed he’s prepared to provide Carrick with guidance via telephone should he need it during the coming months.

In conversation with Casinostugan, the former Fulham manager remarked: “It’s 12 and a half years since I left United. So many managers have come and gone and Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] has been there, and there’s never been any talks, so I don’t really think about it.

“Those 12 and a half years are a long time. So many things have changed. What we had under Sir Alex was unique. You had the most successful manager in the history of English football and everything was done a certain way and we played with a style and all that is gone now.

“Everything is different. The players are different. The environment is different. There are different roles. You have no idea what kind of impact you could have.

“Obviously, if Michael Carrick or someone else rang me, I’d pick up the phone. Of course you would, wouldn’t you.”

Carrick has taken control of a United squad stuck in seventh position in the Premier League table, sitting three points behind the Champions League qualification places.

The former midfielder will have a tough start in his second stint as caretaker boss, beginning with a Manchester derby at Old Trafford before travelling to face league leaders Arsenal.

When asked what the former England international should focus on, Meulensteen emphasised that Carrick needs to quickly define his tactical blueprint.

The Dutchman explained: “There’s a lot of different players at United at this moment of time so you have to sort of rebuild a few things again.

“Amorim was trying to mould them into a system that never really worked. That’s a challenge for Michael now to set them up in a system that suits the players.

“Everybody knows he has taken the job as the interim manager all the way up to the summer. So we will have to wait and see before we look beyond what Manchester United are going to do then.

“Can Carrick do enough to remain as the permanent manager like Solskjaer did when he was brought in as caretaker? It could happen.

“Let’s assume he goes on an unbelievable, unbeaten run and secures top-four, gets Champions League football, and they’ve got nothing else to worry about.

“At this moment in time, all they need to do is make sure that they win as many games in the Premier League as they possibly can, but I think what people will also look at is the way they are going to play under Michael and his style of play.”