Michael Carrick has guided Man Utd into the Champions League places since his interim appointment in January.

Bruno Fernandes has put Michael Carrick’s success down to starting different players, tweaking players’ positions, using a different formation, and Manchester United’s newfound knack for scoring goals.

Ruben Amorim was sacked in January after just 14 months in charge at Old Trafford. Amorim oversaw the worst season at United for 51 years and suffered defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final.

In the Premier League, Amorim had the worst win ratio (32 per cent), the worst goals conceded per game ratio (1.53) and the lowest clean sheet ratio (15 per cent) of any United manager in history.

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Carrick was appointed as head coach until the end of the season. The former midfielder is now in pole position to land the job on a permanent basis after guiding United to third position in the Premier League.

Kobbie Mainoo has been brought back into the starting team and Carrick changed the team’s formation, which Fernandes named among the reasons for his success since his interim appointment.

“Obviously, we have changed some things. He changed some players, changed some players’ positions, has tried a different formation, and at the end of the day, we have started to score goals,” he told Men in Blazers.

“We were creating a lot. In terms of creation and chances of goals, we were there at the top when Ruben was here, but we were not finishing that. And then we were probably one of the best teams at not allowing the opposition into our box, but we would concede more goals.

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“We started to be more compact when we defend, and realised we have moments when we have to suffer because we were not in an excellent moment, let’s say, so I think that sacrifice we made in the first few games… I wouldn’t say we were lucky, but it was good for us to have two big games straight away.

“Because if you win against City and then win against Arsenal at the Emirates, then we think it’s going to be fine, we’re playing good football now and we’re going to win. I think City was the game when we played the best. Against Arsenal, we made the most of it and found a way to win.

“Sometimes big clubs have to find a way to win games. Whether it’s pretty or not, you have to find a way to get results.”

Fernandes paid Carrick the ultimate compliment by naming him as the former United player he would most like to play alongside. “I would not pick Rooney because I would be on the bench,” he said.

“It’s going to sound strange, but Michael Carrick. I’ve trained with him when he was here under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, sometimes he was training with us as a No.6, playing the ball between the lines, and he was great.

“As a No.10 you want those passes to you as quickly as possible, and he was incredible at timing the passes. Sometimes it’s not about having the ball for long but playing it to your teammate as quickly as possible. He was great at that and, for me, having someone behind like that, it’s perfect.”