Ole’s olive branch: Solskjaer contacts Michael Carrick after he beat him to the Man United job

Michael Carrick has revealed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been offering his support since he beat his old friend to the Manchester United job.

United chose Carrick ahead of Solskjaer when they installed him as head coach until the end of the season, and the 44-year-old got off to a dream start last weekend when he won the Manchester derby.

Carrick worked as first-team coach under Solskjaer when he was United boss for nearly three years, and he revealed that the two men still have a close bond.

‘I spoke to him,’ said Carrick. ‘I’m close (to him). We’ve been through a lot together, so he’s been fully supportive, as you’d expect.

‘He’s some man and I respect him an awful lot. He wished us all the best and he was happy that we got the right result.’

Carrick says he has plenty of support ahead of his second game in charge at Arsenal

Asked if he would seek advice from Solskjaer, Carrick added: ‘You have conversations and I’ve got a lot of friends in places that I can pick on if I need to.

‘I’m not one that bothers a lot of people, to be honest. But he’s certainly there if ever I need him.’

Carrick’s second game in charge is at Arsenal on Sunday. He beat the Gunners in his previous three-game spell as caretaker after Solskjaer was sacked in 2021, but doesn’t believe that will have any relevance at the Emirates.

‘Games from three or four years ago, it’s done, it’s in the past,’ he said. ‘So as much as the experience helps you in certain moments, I think it’s a totally different game.

‘I think the confidence I’m taking into the game is what we’ve seen since I’ve been here, between me and my staff, in terms of the game itself, training and how the boys were gone about it.’