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Rob DawsonCorrespondent
Michael Carrick has backed the Manchester United squad to adapt to Ralf Rangnick’s high-pressing style if and when the German takes over at Old Trafford.
Rangnick’s teams have a reputation for fierce pressing, something Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United were accused of not doing well before the Norwegian was sacked.
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Carrick, who will be in charge for Sunday’s trip to Chelsea, remained tight-lipped about Rangnick’s imminent arrival as interim manager until the end of the season at a news conference on Friday but believes the squad will be able to adjust to any coach who comes in.
“Speculation and reports is speculation and reports,” said Carrick, when asked if he had been kept in the loop about Rangnick’s appointment.
“As I’m sitting here now I’m preparing the team for the game [against Chelsea]. I haven’t got any more news to share with you on that front.”
Asked specifically if Rangnick could be successful in trying to implement his pressing style with United’s crop of players, Carrick said: “There’s a lot of different styles in football.
“There’s a group of players here, whoever comes in, they can adapt. There are some really good people and human beings in the squad and I’m sure they’ll look forward to what’s ahead.”
United are set to appoint former RB Leipzig coach Rangnick until the end of the season before installing a new permanent boss in the summer.
Solskjaer was dismissed following a run of seven defeats in 13 games culminating in a humiliating 4-1 defeat at Watford but Carrick said the former striker will deserve credit if the club go on to have success in the future.
“I think that’s one of the biggest things in Ole’s time as manager, creating and building an environment,” Carrick said.
“You can see we finished well last season but once the results started going [badly], it went pretty quickly, which is a shame because everything can get overshadowed.
“It’s still there and the backroom staff and environment has helped me an awful lot this week. What happens next it’s there for sure and it’s a great starting point.”
Carrick is looking to build on an impressive 2-0 win at Villarreal when he takes his team to Stamford Bridge. Luke Shaw remains a doubt after missing the trip to Spain with concussion while Fred is also struggling after twisting his ankle on Tuesday night.
“We’ve got two or three different little issues that we’re waiting to see,” Carrick said. “It’s never ideal, you want a full squad to pick from but there are one or two we’re waiting on.
“Luke took a bang and was concussed and got another bang at Watford. Fred twisted his ankle but managed to carry on [against Villarreal].
“Pretty incredible, helping us see the game out. We’ll see on that. There are one or two others as well. We’ll be strong travelling down [to Chelsea].”
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo said Mauricio Pochettino has “never asked to leave the club” amid interest from United in becoming their permanent manager.
Sources have told ESPN that United had an initial enquiry for the PSG boss knocked back but are continuing to monitor the Argentine’s situation.
“We don’t want Pochettino to leave,” Leonardo told AFP on Friday. “He’s never asked to leave.”