Michael Carrick earmarked to be Jose Mourinho's assistant at Manchester United following departure of Rui Faria
* Michael Carrick enjoys a perfect send-off in Watford victory
* Carrick played his last Premier League game for Manchester United on Sunday
* The 36-year-old is to retire and join Jose Mourinho's United coaching staff
* Carrick addressed the United supporters after their victory at Old Trafford
* The veteran midfielder expressed his excitement at working under Mourinho
Manchester United will fast-track Michael Carrick's coaching career so he can fill a more prominent role alongside Jose Mourinho following Rui Faria's departure.
Carrick has been earmarked for a place on Mourinho's backroom staff for some time, and the 36-year-old midfielder will formally begin his new job in the FA Cup final against Chelsea this weekend.
However, Faria's decision to leave United after the game at Wembley and end a partnership with Mourinho lasting 17 years has changed the situation.
The United manager has already confirmed that he will not have an assistant to replace Faria next season, choosing instead to restructure his coaching team.
United's highly-rated Under-18s manager Kieran McKenna is expected to be promoted onto the first-team staff, and the club will also look to accelerate Carrick's progress.
Jose Mourinho will welcome Michael Carrick onto his coaching team this week. Carrick is excited to learn from 'one of the best' in Mourinho as he joins his coaching staff
He has been working towards his coaching badges with the Under-14s and Under-15s for the last two years but is still short of his Pro-Licence.
Even so, Mourinho knows that Carrick's experience and popularity as a player will provide a valuable link with the dressing-room after 12 years at Old Trafford.
He retired following his farewell in Sunday's win over Watford and will be on the bench at Wembley.
'It changes overnight,' said Carrick. 'I'm not training this week, I'm going to jump onto the staff.
'It's cut clean and I can move on and focus solely on the other side. I'm more excited about the future then looking back and being sad it's over.
'It all fits in. I obviously know the club and manager, learning off him, the backroom staff, trying to bring the kids through and have an influence on that.
'Hopefully it still fits in a couple of years' time.
'It's going to evolve. It's getting used to the role. Over the next season, you will see what works and how we work best.
'I've obviously done a bit of coaching but it's with the younger age groups.. I've done video work with some of the boys already. It's just getting the balance really.' The former England international has already sought advice from his old United teammates like Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville who moved into coaching after their retirement.
'Briefly, yes, and I will do,' he added. 'I think it is important. It's a no-brainer to try to learn as much as I can. I will certainly be doing that.
'I'll just try to speak to as many people as I can; be a nuisance, be a pest. Just trying to learn all the time from the manager, the coaches and other players.' The thought of going into management in future interests Carrick, but he is not getting ahead of himself as he takes his first steps as a coach.
'The end-game, maybe, if I get into it and I think I'd like to manage, probably at this stage my answer would be yes,' he said.
'But just because I was a half-decent player, it doesn't guarantee you're going to be a success in whatever you do. I'm well aware of that. I'm not getting carried away here.'
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