Michael Carrick must win back the confidence of Manchester United supporters after the optimism surrounding his return to the club rapidly faded, according to Andy Mitten.
Writing in The Athletic, the long-time United journalist argues that the problems facing Carrick now extend beyond an ordinary poor run of results.
United have won only one of their opening five Premier League matches, a dramatic contrast with the results Carrick produced after taking charge last season.
That initial spell transformed the mood around Old Trafford.
Carrick collected 39 points from 17 Premier League matches following his appointment in January, more than any other club over the same period.
The run created genuine optimism that United had finally found a platform from which to rebuild.
Five league games into the new season, much of that confidence has disappeared.
Mitten argues that Carrick now faces the task of winning back supporters who are beginning to question whether last season’s revival can be sustained.
The responsibility does not rest solely with the manager.
Mitten also argues that United’s leading players need to justify their reputations and demonstrate why they should be regarded as the team’s most important figures.
The concern is the wider sense of familiarity surrounding United’s latest difficulties.
Managers have changed, players have changed and the club’s football structure has been extensively rebuilt, yet periods of optimism have repeatedly been followed by another downturn.
That creates a more uncomfortable question than whether United have simply started this season badly.
It raises the possibility that the improvement produced during Carrick’s first months disguised weaknesses that have subsequently become more visible.
Recent performance data has added another dimension to that debate.
United currently rank bottom of the Premier League across four measures of high-intensity running, while tactical and selection decisions made by Carrick have also come under increasing scrutiny.
Those figures do not establish why United’s results have deteriorated, but they reinforce the impression that Carrick has more to solve than a temporary loss of form.
The international break gives him an opportunity to respond.
United do not play again until they face Tottenham on 10 October, providing Carrick with almost three weeks to reassess his team before Premier League football resumes.
Mitten’s assessment is ultimately one of supporter belief.
Carrick earned considerable goodwill through what United achieved during the second half of last season.
The opening weeks of this campaign have already consumed much of it.
United need better results, but Carrick also needs to demonstrate that last season’s revival represented genuine progress rather than another temporary improvement in a cycle the club has repeatedly failed to escape.
