MANCHESTER UNITED manager Michael Carrick has scoffed at Elliot Anderson’s claim that City are “kings of Manchester” ahead of Sunday’s derby.
Anderson immediately endeared himself to City fans after his £116million transfer from Nottingham Forest by trumpeting their domestic dominance over the past decade.
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Since United last won the Premier League title in 2013, City have been champions seven times, won three FA Cups, seven League Cups, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.
City have also finished above United in the Premier League in every season since Sir Alex Ferguson retired 13 years ago.
Anderson, 23, opted to join Enzo Maresca’s side over United, despite club legend Ryan Giggs urging him to move to Old Trafford during a round of golf.
The England international came through the famed Wallsend Boys’ Club that Carrick’s father is still involved with, but the United coach dismissed any attempt at mind games by City’s summer signing.
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Carrick said, when reminded of Anderson’s brag: “I’m definitely not using that phrase at all, no.
“I understand it. I think going into the Champions League game [against Sabah] and talking about the expectation there, I think it’s a really good thing that it’s shifted in a way.
“And all of a sudden there are different things asked of us now to maybe what was a few months ago, and we’re in the Champions League.
“That in itself shows the steps we’ve made, and we need to be in the later stages of that, and then the expectations around that.
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“We know that, and we’re humble enough and realistic enough to know where we’ve come from in recent history.
“And we need to and we want to be better, and we want to be challenging more. So that’s where we’re at.
“It doesn’t mean that we can’t and we won’t. It means we still hope, we believe, and we expect that we can be and we should be, but I understand the bigger picture.”
Carrick’s first game back in charge of United in January was the 2-0 defeat of City, in what is widely considered to be their best performance since the 2024 FA Cup final triumph against the same opposition.
United initially appointed Carrick for the remainder of the season but their resurgence under the former club captain led to his promotion to permanent head coach in May.
When asked whether he imagined he would still be in charge eight months later, Carrick replied: “I think I said it pretty early on, I was always planning to be.
“All the decisions we were making were about whether we were going to be here for a period of time. I never knew how long that was going to be, I still don’t!
“But you’re always planning for the future, what we want it to look like and the direction we want to go, and that was from day one.
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“Obviously, it was quick and it was a turnaround and around that game there was a bit of an unknown, to be honest with you.
“The performance the lads gave was incredible with all that.”
Anderson said after choosing City over United in summer: “It’s one of the biggest derbies in the world and for as long as I’ve known Manchester, City have been the kings of Manchester.
“It’ll be a great fixture and I can’t wait to be involved in something like that.
“They’re winners, they’re relentless, and that’s the sort of team I want to be a part of – champions and people who win trophies,”
Carrick came up against City coach Enzo Maresca in the Championship when they were in charge of Middlesbrough and Leicester City.
City have a 100 per cent record from the Italian’s first four games, having beaten Porto in their Champions League opener on Tuesday night.
Carrick added: “They’re a very good team, obviously. They’ve had some really good results.
“I thought they were really professional the way they played against Porto the other night, and efficient in what they needed to do.
“And obviously you’ve got players to choose from to rotate, and that’s the position they’re in. Little tweaks here and there that I don’t need to talk about right here, but you try to take from the game.
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“We know we have to put in a really good performance and do a lot of good things to get the result we want.”
Luke Shaw could return for United after he was rested for the 4-0 Champions League win over Sabah on Thursday night.
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