Former United midfielder Carrick was appointed as caretaker boss until the end of the season soon after Ruben Amorim was sacked in early January.

And United’s all-time leading goalscorer Rooney believes his former team-mate could be the one to finally stabilise the club.

Rooney told The Overlap: “We’ve been there and tried different managers – (Jose) Mourinho, (Louis) van Gaal, (Erik) ten Hag and (Ruben) Amorim – and for me Carrick makes sense.

“Not because we’ve played together and we’re friends, but because he is a real calming influence.

“Having someone there who knows the club and cares for the club makes a big difference. Michael is managing the whole squad and managing them well.”

Carrick made a dream start in the role as United beat Manchester City 2-0 at Old Trafford in his first game in charge and followed up with a 3-2 defeat of Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Four wins and a draw in his first five games at the helm have seen United climb into the top four and Rooney has not ruled out Carrick becoming a permanent fixture.

“The players who are starting, they’re fine you don’t have to manage them, but the other lads – we’ve seen the impact on (Matheus) Cunha, (Benjamin) Sesko, (Harry) Maguire, (Lisandro) Martinez. He’s having an impact on the whole squad and football club,” Rooney added.

“Sometimes we’re quick to overlook what’s right there in front of you and say we’ve got this manager from Turkey or from Spain, who is going to come in and do this, when they have no interest in the football club.

“At least (with Carrick) this will give the foundations for the club to keep building, when in two or three years’ time the infrastructure will be back at the club.”