Michael Carrick Calls Manchester United's Start to Premier League Season Not Easy

Michael Carrick has dismissed talk of Manchester United being handed a gentle introduction to the new Premier League season, branding the suggestion “ridiculous”.

United open their campaign on Saturday away to Hull, last season’s Championship play-off winners, before welcoming Ipswich to Old Trafford on 30 August. Two newly promoted sides, back-to-back. On paper, some see a soft launch. Carrick sees something very different.

“A newly promoted team away from home is a tough game,” he said, cutting through the narrative. “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.”

The fixture list has prompted claims that United should “hit the ground running” and simply roll their strong finish from last season into August. They ended the previous campaign in third place, a surge that helped secure Carrick the job on a permanent basis and raised expectations that his side would start fast.

He is having none of the complacency.

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

Hull away, Ipswich at home. For Carrick, those aren’t stepping stones. They’re early tests of whether his United can handle the weight of their own momentum.