Michael Carrick Rejects Soft Launch Claims for Manchester United

Michael Carrick has dismissed suggestions that Manchester United have been handed a soft launch to the new Premier League season, branding the idea “ridiculous”.

United open their campaign away at Hull on Saturday, facing last season’s Championship play-off winners, before welcoming Ipswich to Old Trafford on 30 August – another side fresh from promotion.

The sequence has led some to argue that United should start fast, carry over the momentum from last year’s third-place finish and instantly justify the club’s decision to hand Carrick the job on a permanent basis.

Carrick is having none of it.

“A newly promoted team away from home is a tough game,” he said, drawing on his own experience of early-season trips to fired-up newcomers. “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.”

For Carrick, the narrative of a gentle start vanishes the moment United walk into a packed stadium full of a fanbase riding the high of promotion. Hull first, Ipswich next. On paper, some might see opportunity. On the touchline, Carrick only sees danger if his side believe it.