MICHAEL CARRICK could find himself side-by-side on the touchline with old Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney TWICE this weekend.
But the two Champions League-winning legends will NOT be talking until after the full-time whistle goes in Plymouth’s clash with Middlesbrough.
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Boro boss Carrick takes his promotion-chasing Boro on the 750-mile round trip looking to pile even more pressure on Rooney’s struggling Pilgrims.
The two actually went head-to-head in the latter’s first game in charge of his ill-fated stint at Birmingham last season.
And Carrick insists friendship goes out the window for 90 minutes as he looks to record another win over his ex-Old Trafford and England friend after that 1-0 triumph.
He said: “It’ll be nice to see him, but I see him quite a bit actually and speak to him.
“Last season, with it being the first time, probably took a little bit of getting used to standing on the sideline together but we’ve kind of moved on from that novelty stage.
“We are both there to do a job and we know that it’s a tough place to go.
“There’s massive respect, we’ve come through a lot together and are friends, but it is what it is.”
When asked if there had been any contact this week, Carrick revealed that they actually spend a lot more time together next to the pitch than most people realised.
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He said: “No, no. There’s that kind of understanding that we both have a job to do and we’ll catch up after the game.
“And we’ll catch up soon again after because our sons play on the same team. So I see more of him from doing that than I do any other time.”
Carrick’s son Jacey and Rooney’s boy Kai are both following in the footsteps of their famous fathers by winning silverware at Man Utd after helping the U14s to become national champions back in May.
It must be quite something to have two of the star men under Sir Alex Ferguson watching on every week, but not according to Carrick.
He said: “They’ve had it since they were six. So it’s just two old men standing on the sideline, it’s normal.”
Rooney has faced huge criticism of late and a string of poor results has left Plymouth stuck in the bottom three.
However, Carrick believes he has been unlucky and backed the legendary goalscorer to turn things around.
He added: “Their home form has been pretty good, actually, and they’ve had some really good results. I think they’ve only lost a couple at home.
“They are a real tough team to crack at home and that’s what’s on our minds going down there, expecting that.
“Obviously results are results, we all have them where you have some good ones and then you have some bad ones, or ones you wouldn’t wish for, that’s the way it is.
“I watched them against Sheffield United and thought that they were particularly good and very unlucky not to get something from the game.
“I think that they’ve got some players back and as a team they are looking stronger and we are certainly under no illusions of what they are capable of.”