Ruben Amorim liked to do things his own way at Manchester United, and honestly, that meant skipping some of the easy wins. Take the academy games, for example. You’d think showing up to support the young players would be a no-brainer, but Amorim barely bothered. He wandered over to glance at an academy match at Carrington once, but that was about it. In a year and a half, he never really took the time to watch the youth teams play.

Then Michael Carrick arrives as interim boss, and within a week, he’s sitting at an Under-21 match. Not alone, either—he’s got Steve Holland, Jonathan Woodgate, and Travis Binnion with him. Jason Wilcox, the club’s director of football, and Stephen Torpey, who runs the academy, were there too. Darren Fletcher showed up as well, now back to managing the Under-18s after his brief spell as caretaker.

Maybe it sounds like a small thing—coaches watching a youth match—, but it means a lot. It’s a clear signal to the academy players: you matter. There’s a path for you here. Carrick even planned to talk with the Under-21s after their game against Sporting Lisbon. It’s a classy move, and it’s not something they got from Amorim. Some of the academy kids felt let down by Amorim’s comments in the press, but Carrick’s already working to lift them in his first week.

Fletcher, for his part, defended the academy passionately at a recent press conference, and there’s every reason to think Carrick will keep that going—even if he’s only guaranteed the job until the end of the season. Carrick knows what this club is about. He played 464 times for United and said that the best teams here always had homegrown players. A lot of people felt Amorim just didn’t understand that.

Amorim didn’t help himself, either, when he publicly questioned Harry Amass’s loan in the Championship, pointed out Chido Obi wasn’t starting every U21 match, or randomly brought up Toby Collyer. With Carrick, you’re not going to get headlines like that. He’s steady.

Carrick’s first taste of academy football at Leigh Sports Village turned out to be a wild ride. James Scanlon scored twice in the first half, putting United up 2-1 against Sporting. At halftime, Woodgate was seen pointing at the team sheet—probably talking about Scanlon, who looked a class above. Scanlon, by the way, has already played senior internationals for Gibraltar, thanks to his mum, and he’s clearly outgrown academy football. He sealed his hat-trick with a sharp finish in the second half. Now, with Torpey handling loans after Evans stepped down, Scanlon needs a move—ideally before January is over.

Tyler Fredricson captained the team that night. A few days before, he’d been in the directors’ box for the Manchester derby, sitting next to Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt. Fredricson started against Sporting, but since being subbed off early against Grimsby Town in August, he’s only played two first-team minutes. He’s another one who would benefit from a loan to get some real game time.

Carrick also got his first look at the Fletcher twins in action. Jack Fletcher has come off the bench in Premier League games against Aston Villa, Newcastle, and Wolves in December. That match against Sporting was another chance to impress now that Carrick’s in charge. Tyler Fletcher has made three matchday squads in the Premier League but hasn’t debuted yet. Watching his brother get minutes will only make him hungrier.

With just 16 league games left this season and most of the senior squad fit, it’ll be interesting to see how much Carrick leans on academy players. Only the very best are likely to get chances. Right now, Shea Lacey looks the favourite to stick around the senior group. He wasn’t involved against Sporting because he’d been training with the first team, and his recent cameos have turned heads.

United edged out Sporting 3-2 in the end, but they’ll have to wait to see if they make the knockout rounds of the Premier League International Cup. At least Carrick saw a five-goal thriller and Scanlon’s hat-trick on his first night watching the academy—pretty good start.