'I played with Michael Carrick - there are four reasons why he's succeeding at Man United'

Michael Carrick has won his first two games in his second spell in charge of Manchester United after taking over from Ruben Amorim

Michael Carrick has enjoyed the perfect start as Manchester United interim manager. And his former West Ham team-mate Marlon Harewood has given a handful of reasons for this early success.

In his second spell in charge at Old Trafford, Carrick has hit the ground running. Since replacing Ruben Amorim at the helm he has orchestrated a brilliant 2-0 derby win against Manchester City and an unlikely 3-2 away win at Premier League leaders Arsenal.

A long-term successor to Amorim is set to be appointed in the summer and although Carrick was only brought in to man the ship until the end of this season, his credentials are being bolstered by the week.

Harewood, who played alongside Carrick with the Hammers for just under a year, has now given a few reasons why he thinks the 44-year-old is succeeding already in the unforgiving United hotseat.

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"Mike is a good guy. I know what he's like from when I played with him at West Ham," said Harewood, speaking on In The Mixer brought to you by Sky Bet.

Harewood then gave out four grounds for Carrick's early joy and added: "He's well respected with his mannerisms and how he carries himself. He also knows what the club is like and how to get the best out of it. He's got a lot of good people around him who want to help him. He also knows how to talk to the players."

The ex-West Ham striker concluded: "Just look at the reaction of the players. Any team that goes into a game and starts running the way they have and producing what they have is a credit to Michael. I think that's a credit to him as a person."

Harewood was speaking alongside former England defender Joleon Lescott, who is also familiar with Carrick from their time together within the Three Lions' setup.

Lescott added: "I think definitely he's a great person and that is key. I think if the environment's not been great, then someone comes in and changes how you feel about coming into work, then you're obviously going to get a reaction.

"But he's also asking players to do what they're familiar with. No one is playing in a position they aren't used to playing in. It's insane that Amorim was doing that and was doing things where he'd say, 'Well, play this way.' And it probably suited four of the 11 players.

"And those four players weren't even the best. Now you're asking eight, nine players to do what they are good at and making them feel good about doing it."

Lescott was asked if he envisioned Carrick becoming a manager when they played together and replied: "You could see that he had the ability. The understanding was never gonna be in question. The type of manager I think he is and I've heard he is. Yes. That's the type of manager I expected him to become."

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