Man Utd interim coach Carrick shutting out the background noise

MANCHESTER, England, Jan 16 : Michael Carrick said he is blanking out the background noise as he prepares for his second stint as Manchester United's interim manager with a derby against Manchester City.

The former midfielder won five Premier League titles at Old Trafford as well as the Champions League, but returns with the club in a rut and struggling to revive the golden days.

Carrick has been handed control for the rest of the season and his return has divided opinion, but all he is concerned about is salvaging something from the campaign.

Former United teammate Gary Neville said Carrick should not be considered as a long-term option while Roy Keane said United should hire "the best of the best".

"They're (former players) not putting more pressure on me. I don't feel that. There are plenty of opinions around, some positive, some not too much," Carrick told reporters on Friday.

"It's totally irrelevant in terms of what I focus on. I know what we want to improve on, how we want to work with the players. There's a lot that can be said, it's the way of the world. I'm not gonna pay too much attention to that.

"For me, the players and staff it's a focus on how we're going to succeed. That's our job."

Carrick stepped up from assistant manager to spend 12 days as caretaker manager of United at the end of 2021 after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was undefeated in his three games, including a 3-2 victory over Arsenal.

He will have longer to get his ideas across this time but will need to hit the ground running with his first two games against City and Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Last weekend's defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup means United now only have the league to focus on and the target will be getting