Michael Carrick told to learn from 'huge' Sir Alex Ferguson trait if he gets Man Utd job

Steve Bruce played 417 games for Manchester United , all of them for his managerial mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson . He was the first man to lift the Premier League trophy after captaining United in the inaugural 1992-93 season. And after hanging up his boots, he began a 27-year career in management that saw him take charge of 1,094 games at a dozen clubs. He reckons that with the possible exception of an international job, his own life in the dugout is over but hopes that another former United player will be the one whose managerial prowess returns the Red Devils to the top of the tree. “I sincerely hope Michael Carrick gets the Manchester United job,” said Bruce during an appearance on The Overlap and Betfair’s Stick to Cricket show . “He’s certainly put himself in pole position. He gets the club because he’s been there and played for it. So, I hope he does get it permanently next season.” Carrick ended up with even more United appearances than Bruce, totalling 464 by the time he left in 2018. More than 300 of those came in the seven seasons he had Fergie for a boss and Bruce knows that kind of influence is priceless experience for those players who want a career in coaching. WORLD CUP LEGENDS: The stars who lit up football's greatest tournament - Buy the Special Edition today And he revealed that the winning mentality was the greatest lesson he took from his former boss. “Sir Alex was huge on preparation,” Bruce said. “I think Fergie was the start of rotation, too - 25-30 years ago, he was the first to change the team. “It was unheard of back then; your team was your team. But it was all meticulous. Now it comes into the big clubs in particular, all over the world with pre-season. He would say, ‘We’re not doing that, we’re not getting on planes to do that’. “In the end, it took over because there was that much money involved, but he was huge on preparation. That’s a big key. Tactically, but physically especially, pre-season and all the rest of it. His mentality, though, was to win. “He would say, ‘We’re Man United and we are the best team, and you are the best players, and we’ve got to prove that week in and week out. The rest of the world don’t like us by the way, but we’ve got to make sure we’re at it’. He was meticulous in that respect.” Should Michael Carrick get the Manchester United job? Have your say in the comments section . Famously, despite all his success with the best team in the country during the 1990s, Bruce never won a full cap for England but he will be cheering on the country this summer, even though he fears burnout, a problem he knows well from his long time in coaching. “The French are very good again,” Bruce said. “The Spanish, and then you’re never going to rule out one of the South American teams. England must have a chance of winning the World Cup because of the personnel we’ve got. “I just have this thing about all the lads who play in the Premier League. They’ve played so much football that you just hope they’re fresh enough. They play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday. “The public thinks they should be fine, but after the season, they’re exhausted. They’ve played 60 or 70 games, and then you’ve got to get ready for the biggest tournament. But we’ve definitely got a chance with the team we have.” And as for his own future? “Never say never, but I believe that I’ve had my time in management. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but there comes a time when you have to call it. “Maybe something like an international job. I had a conversation with Ireland a few years ago, and before Steve McClaren , I had a chat with the Jamaican FA. They went for Steve in the end.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us - and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're cu rious, you can read our Privacy Notice .