Man Utd breaks the "Carrick curse" by winning the Premier League Manager of the Month award for January after defeating two leading teams.
On 13 February 2026, the English Premier League officially announced the Manager of the Month award for January of the 2025-26 season. The award went to Michael Carrick, the caretaker manager of Manchester United.
Michael Carrick took over from Rúben Amorim on 13 January and quickly improved Man Utd's performance dramatically, starting with a 2-0 home victory over local rivals Manchester City, who were second in the Premier League standings.
Carrick then led Man Utd to an outstanding 3-2 away win against Arsenal, the Premier League leaders, making Man Utd the first team to defeat the Gunners at home this season.
These achievements earned Michael Carrick the Premier League Manager of the Month award for January, beating three other contenders: Sean Dyche (Nottingham Forest), Andoni Iraola (Bournemouth), and Liam Rosenier (Chelsea).
However, this award might cause concern among Man Utd fans since teams whose managers have won this award often suffer a sharp decline in performance afterwards. It remains to be seen whether Michael Carrick can break this 'curse.'