Who is Michael Carrick? The boy from the north-east who became a Man Utd favourite

Among Michael Carrick's many attributes, it was his strength of character that impressed his former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Scot signed Carrick from Tottenham in 2006, following protracted talks with Daniel Levy, at a time when he was considered one of England's top midfielders.

Ferguson's eagerness to secure the deal was rooted in the bravery he saw in the player, who had moved from his native north-east to West Ham as a teenager.

“A 16-year-old kid going way down from Newcastle to east London – that’s a trek, and it epitomised to me the confidence the boy had in himself. That impressed me,” Ferguson said in 2017.

That self-confidence and character will be required in spades as he prepares to lead United through the remainder of another uninspiring season so far.

Carrick shone as a youngster at the same Wallsend Boys Club that produced the likes of Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Steve Bruce and took the plunge to join the highly-rated Hammers academy.

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He was part of the West Ham side which won the FA Youth Cup in 1999 and made his first-team bow that same year.

Carrick played as a defensive midfielder, but was far more than just someone who could break up play – his passing and composure was what took him to the top.

He stayed with West Ham despite their relegation from the Premier League in 2003 but, when they failed to return at the first attempt, he headed to Spurs.

Ferguson swooped for Carrick three years later, and he became an integral part of a United side which won the club’s last five league titles, including three in a row between 2007 and 2009, as well as the 2008 Champions League.

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Carrick retired in the summer of 2018 but stayed on at United as part of Jose Mourinho’s staff and was a key member of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching team during the Norwegian’s stint in charge at Old Trafford.

Carrick held the caretaker reins for three matches after Solskjaer’s sacking but this appointment presents a far greater chance to make his mark.

His spell at Middlesbrough arguably offers United fans the best insight into what to expect from Carrick the head coach.

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He replaced Chris Wilder with the club placed just above the Championship relegation zone in the autumn of 2022 and implemented a possession-based style of football.

Results were good initially and the team surged to fourth by the end of that first campaign, but Boro fans became frustrated at what they felt was a lack of a Plan B – criticism regularly levelled at United’s last head coach Ruben Amorim.

League positions worsened in his two full seasons and he was sacked last June.

His short-term impact at Boro may give United fans hope for a strong finish to the campaign, and that confidence and self-belief which served him so well as a teenager will need to come to the fore again in the Old Trafford goldfish bowl.