Michael Carrick praised for scrapping Ruben Amorim rule as Man Utd stars get 'extra bonus'

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Michael Carrick has helped get a tune out of his Manchester United players by scrapping a Ruben Amorim rule and allowing them an extra day off after matches. That is the view of former United defender Wes Brown, who has praised Carrick for implementing the change and giving the squad an "extra bonus".

Carrick, 44, has made quite the impact since replacing Amorim as United's head coach until the end of the season. The ex-United midfielder returned to Old Trafford in mid-January and has won six of his first seven fixtures, picking up 19 points from a possible 21 in the Premier League.

It's a run that has seen United move up to third in the table, above fourth-place Aston Villa on goal difference and three points ahead of Liverpool in fifth. With 10 games to go, Carrick has put the Reds in a strong position to earn Champions League qualification for the first time in three years.

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Since his return to the Reds, Carrick has made a number of changes. Among them is getting rid of Erik ten Hag and Amorim's policy of requiring the United players to train the day after matches.

Carrick has instead approved designated rest days within 24 hours of a fixture, with recovery sessions rescheduled to take place two days after the final whistle instead. The move has been well-received by the squad, who have enjoyed being able to briefly savour a good win before getting back down to business.

Delivering his opinion on that Carrick change, Brown, who made more than 350 appearances for United during a successful career at Old Trafford, feels that it's made a positive impression on the squad.

Brown, who was speaking with Bet MGM, told The Mirror : "For whatever reason, he's (Carrick) done it that way. For me, I think it's a respect thing. I'm guessing if they weren't winning, I don't think that would be happening, first of all.

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"But it's like a little extra bonus, if that's how you want to put it. And I think it's something that can work in football, as long as it's done in the right way. You can get a reaction like we have at Manchester United .

"It's a tough old season, in the sense that there's many games. But if you look when Michael's came in, we've just got the Premier League now. There's lots of other teams that are still in other competitions and I don't think that extra day will do anyone any harm."

Due to Carrick's impressive start back at United, there has been talk that he is the frontrunner to become the long-term, permanent successor to Amorim in the summer.

When asked if Carrick should get the job on a full-time basis, Brown replied: "Well, first of all, he's definitely put his name very high up that list, if there's still a list. Sometimes I always say, why change if it's working?

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"I think we all thought, we all knew it was going to be a difficult job. There's lots of pressure on this job. The one thing I will say is it's his second time in. He would have made a few mistakes the first time. And then mistakes he would have made, he's obviously trying to get them right this time.

"But he had a great spell at Middlesbrough. People will say it wasn't the Premier League, but with the team he had, very young players, he still did a very good job. The only thing I would say is, if he didn't get the job, you're bringing someone in new again. Everything changes in the sense that the staff change. No one really knows the manager.

"So obviously that can still happen, but Michael's definitely got himself as one of the front-runners. You can't dismiss that in any way with the way he's been playing."

United are next in action when they travel to Newcastle United on Wednesday. The Reds are hoping to extend their unbeaten run to 12 in the Premier League and give their top-four hopes another huge boost.

Wes Brown was speaking with BetMGM.

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