Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick has spoken highly of young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo after making him a key player since replacing Ruben Amorim.
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Mainoo has been struggling to play at Old Trafford this season, Amorim for some reason not considering him and leaving him on the bench too much.
The Portuguese tactician struggled during his time in charge of Man Utd, and now it seems clear that he really missed a trick by not using Mainoo more.
The talented young Englishman burst onto the scene under Erik ten Hag, and Carrick says he has known him for a long time.
Michael Carrick’s special tribute to Kobbie Mainoo
Speaking to BBC Sport, Carrick made it clear just how good Mainoo is, while backing the 20-year-old to continue to improve.
“I’ve known Kobbie for a long time. I started working with him when I think he was 13 or 14, when I started doing my training badges – a few years ago. Just small pieces. And then, obviously, when I was here the first time, he was already in and walking around a little bit,” Carrick said.
“So I think I know him and having experience with him and seeing him perform at such a high level in big moments… I’ve said before about the coaches being able to deal with being here and the level of dealing with it.” What Kobbie did at such a young age is truly amazing.
“We forget how young he is, I loved watching him play and I know what he can do. So it wasn’t really a big decision to play him. And, to be honest, it’s not easy if you haven’t played to find your rhythm and find your form.
“There are things he can improve on, things he can improve on, but we haven’t started on that yet because we’re just letting him find his flow and find his rhythm of playing football again. I was really careful not to give him too much – a few points, things to put forward and little things that he has there and there in football. Great talent.”
Kobbie Mainoo is thriving under Michael Carrick
It’s interesting to hear Carrick say he doesn’t like overloading Mainoo with too many commands, which sounds like a breath of fresh air in the modern game.
It remains to be seen whether United will end up employing Carrick beyond his time as interim manager, but perhaps something can be learned from how he managed to get the best out of Mainoo.
Although there are plenty of great coaches in the game who look at things differently, it seems that there is something to be said for giving players the freedom to express themselves.
This also worked well when another former MUFC player, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was in charge at Old Trafford, so Carrick is likely to be another fit for the job.
Carrick has won four and drawn one in five games in charge of the Red Devils so far.
