Carrick Rejects Favourable Start Narrative as United Face Hull

Michael Carrick is having none of it.

Suggestions that Manchester United have been handed a gentle introduction to the new Premier League season drew a sharp response from the head coach, who branded the idea “ridiculous” as his side prepare for their opener at Hull on Saturday.

United, fresh from a third-place finish that earned Carrick the job on a permanent basis, begin away to the Championship play-off winners before hosting Ipswich, another newly promoted side, at Old Trafford on 30 August. On paper, some see a chance to build early momentum. Carrick sees a trap.

“A newly promoted team away from home is a tough game,” he said, drawing on his own experience of such occasions. “I've been involved in them in the past so I'm fully aware of what's coming at us on Saturday and what we've got to be ready for.

“It's not favourable. It's an easy thing to throw out there but it's pretty ridiculous. I'm not taking it that way at all.”

The narrative around United has been clear since the fixtures dropped: with two promoted clubs up first, this is the moment to “hit the ground running”, to extend the winning form that powered last season’s surge into the top three. Carrick refuses to let that storyline seep into his dressing room.

Hull, buoyed by promotion and their own momentum, will treat United’s visit as a statement occasion. Ipswich will do the same when they arrive at Old Trafford at the end of the month. Carrick knows those atmospheres well enough to strip away any sense of entitlement.

For him, there is no soft launch to this campaign. Only a sharp reminder that the Premier League rarely honours assumptions.