Michael Carrick told major Man United issue he needs to fix that Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim couldn’t

Michael Carrick must switch up Manchester United’s possession-based approach in favour of a more effective counter-attack style.

That’s the view of talkSPORT chief football correspondent, who believes the tweak could pay dividends for the Red Devils in their quest to secure Champions League football next season.

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Carrick saw his four-game winning run come to an end on Tuesday after snatching a late 1-1 draw at West Ham.

Benjamin Sesko was United’s saviour at the London Stadium with a last-gasp leveller to ensure they held on to fourth place in the table.

Carrick’s men struggled to pose the same threat as they did in the recent victories against Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham.

Switch of styles

Crook believes that emphasis on dominating possession was the reason for United’s struggles in creating a host of clear-cut chances against the Hammers.

The 20-time Premier League champions enjoyed the most possession of any game under Carrick against West Ham (65 per cent) while scoring the least amount of goals.

Tuesday’s display was in contrast to their recent wins over the two title contenders, with Carrick’s side utilising their weapons on the counter to full effect.

In this week’s edition of talkSPORT’s Inside Devils show, Crook says Carrick must stick with the tried and tested counter-attack method and solve an issue that previous head coaches Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim failed to rectify.

“We need to get the elephant in the room out of the way,” Crook began. “Erik ten Hag struggled with it, Rubin Amorim struggled with it and Michael Carrick struggled with it against West Ham.

“More than 60 per cent possession for Man United, we are still a team who perform better on the counter.

“We’re not a group of players who want to have the ball and I thought Nuno Espirito Santo did a job on Carrick in one regard that he was content to let United dominate possession knowing that’s not how they really like to operate.

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“I think it’s an issue that Carrick is going to have to solve, bearing in mind you’re looking at the next few games.

“Everton away from home, we’ll be expected to dominate possession there. Crystal Palace at home, we should dominate possession in that one as well.

“And we’ve got a lot of the lesser teams to play in the Premier League between now and the end of the season.”

Huge prizes at stake

Should Carrick find a winning formula, then what appeared to be another dismal campaign at Old Trafford could quickly turn into a successful one.

And that could spell good news for the former Manchester United midfielder and current interim head coach, who has done his hopes of landing the role permanently no harm so far.

Man United know there is plenty of football to be played before the Champions League spots are determined, with usual suspects Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Newcastle all expected to be in the mix.

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However, Crook believes that Carrick must switch up United’s style, particularly in matches against their rivals, to utilise their attacking options to the fullest.

“It is there for United (Champions League qualification), but they must find a way to win these games when they’re not expected to dominate possession,” Crook said

“For example, Eddie Howe and Unai Emery are shrewd enough to know if we give United the ball, ‘let’s see if they can break us down’.

“If we attack them, the likes of [Matheus] Cunha, [Bryan] Mbeumo can really get some joy and Bruno [Fernandes] with his passing.

“These players haven’t changed their personalities overnight – they still get up for the big games and slip up against teams they should be beating.

“I think Michael Carrick is going to have to find a way to tweak the playing style and probably tweak the personnel as well.”

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Manchester United’s premature exit from the FA Cup ensures they only have the Premier League to focus on.

And that means United will not play again until they head to Goodison Park to take on Everton on February 23.

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