Why Michael Carrick is glad not to be following in Wayne Rooney’s footsteps

Carrick will face his former Manchester United teammate on Thursday night in the FA Cup

Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United (Getty)

For all that Michael Carrick admires the fact Wayne Rooney is still physically sharp enough to face Manchester United for Derby County in the FA Cup on Thursday, he wouldn’t want to follow in his footsteps. The Old Trafford coach is actually surprisingly strident about it, especially for someone who evidently so loved the ball at his feet.

“I have not missed it, no,” Carrick says. “I had had enough and I was ready to stop. I didn’t miss it from the last game of the season to not so long ago. I wasn’t bothered about joining in training. I had done it for long enough.”

Speaking at St George’s Park as he seeks to complete his coaching Pro Licence, and fully mark a new step in his career, Carrick isn’t surprised Rooney is still going as a player.

“It is nice to see him back playing well,” the former United midfielder says. “He has had a spell away. In some ways you wouldn't expect him to come back and play back in England again. That was his retirement plan, going over there but it is nice to see him back and playing well again.

“He is playing a bit deeper. We played together in the FA Cup final in that position, when we won it last [in 2016]. He was going down that route, then he went back up front again. He can adapt. He has the quality to adapt, whether he plays as a striker or midfielder, he played that at United at times. I am not surprised he has gone to that stage now and is doing well.”

One of the reasons that Carrick didn’t pursue that route, though, was because of the relentless standards of United. He didn’t fancy making the drop down, or trying to adjust - especially after the wear and tear of so long at the top. Once he couldn't do it at the top, he didn't want to do it at all.

“No, I didn't to be honest. Different pathways. It wasn't planned. I just wanted to stay at United and play as long as I could. It got towards the end, I realised that was me. I can see why some lads want to play on, regardless of where it is but it just wasn't for me. I had had enough of playing by the end.

“It had just run its course. My career was done and I was happy with it. I can long back and be proud of it but I have moved on. A bit of physical pain, the old Achilles doesn't swell up like it used to. Mentally I was fine. Going straight into the job at United. The routine is still there, if not more. There was plenty for my mind to keep ticking over with, so that helped me an awful lot.

“I think when you know that you are not quite at it and you cannot quite do physically what you think you should be able to do. You can picture it in your mind and see what you want to do, but… I had a couple of issues with calf injuries towards the end and heart problems as well and it was natural it was the end of my career. Mentally, it was easier to deal with.

“I think it is easy to take for granted how fit you are athletically. My last season [2017-18] I played against Huddersfield in the FA Cup and I had not played for a little bit and realised I was half a yard off here and there. I knew that was me done.”

It is that half a yard that so often made a difference at United. And Carrick had to get up to speed quite quickly on joining from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006.

“It was a big jump even then. It hit home pretty much straight away. Training was one. Then my first match was Watford away and we won 2-1. I was thinking it was a good away win, but then the boss came in and went absolutely mental. I remember thinking, 'this is different!'

“He had a go at [Ryan] Giggs. Giggsy had scored but he had had a go at Giggs, but Giggs was the only one that would have a go back at him.

“Sir Alex went back at him for 10 minutes. All the time, I am thinking, 'this is a team that’s won 10 points away from home – at Tottenham they would have snapped your hands off!'

Rooney is in fine form with Derby (Getty)

Rooney, of course, had been at that level for even longer.

“It was incredible. From the time when he scored against Arsenal for Everton [in 2002] – I mean he was a name before that - but that was an explosion on the scene. We’re talking about young lads dealing with pressures and press and media. He almost didn’t care about that and every time something was asked of him he stepped up and embraced it and grew even bigger. Just an incredible talent, almost freakish in the way he could deal with things and his mentality was incredible.

“You just have to be able to deal with it. Compare myself to Wayne, for instance. We are totally different characters and we deal with things differently. But you have got to be mentally able to cope. To play for United, you have to deal with it. We have got a young group of lads that have come from different pathway – some from abroad, some from lower leagues, some from other places. But the jump to United does take some adjustment. That is the challenge, but it is an exciting challenge. To be fair they have taken that on board and we are just trying to keep developing them. But there is certainly that expectation that is standard and comes with it. That is just how it is.” Carrick can see Rooney taking the next jump, and following him into full-time coaching.

“I’d say so yeah. He knows the game so well, he’s intelligent on the pitch, and he’s gone on to lead like he did in his final years at United, as one of the older ones in the dressing room with me in the dressing-room. So he definitely took that role on. Therefore it wouldn’t surprise me if he stayed in the game for a long time.”

“He only lives five minutes down the road from me. I don't speak to him as much as I should, it is typical footballers isn't it? I definitely keep in touch with him.”

There’ll be warm words on Thursday, as Rooney will be in midfield, and Carrick will be on the sidelines. That distance suits the latter fine for now.