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Michael Carrick insists he is "not offended" by the planned protest by Manchester United fans ahead of their clash against Fulham - and vows that it won't impact on the players as they bid to make it three wins from three under him.

Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim until the end of the season and has begun with a bang - first downing Manchester City at Old Trafford before going to Arsenal and beating them in north London. It has United firmly in the hunt to claim a Champions League spot for next season.

There is a feel good factor around the club, but the fans have not changed their mind on holding a protest before Sunday's clash, albeit their anger is directed at Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the overall ownership structure.

United fan group The 1958 is expecting upwards of 6,000 supporters to join their pre-match march to protest against the Glazers and Ratcliffe, who have continued to make unpopular decisions with anger and frustration mounting.

The 1958 group see Ratcliffe, who is in charge of football operations, as very much being in bed with the Glazers as the club's debts of £1.1billion continue to rack up - but Carrick understands their right to air their feelings.

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The man in the dugout has maintained: "It doesn't affect the team. I fully respect the supporters. They're incredible. They have been for so long and had a lot of ups and some downs as well, but, you know, I'm not offended by it or anything, and the players certainly aren't. Within the stadium, the support we've felt, and that's been there for all the games that I've watched for quite some time, has been of the highest level and I'm sure it will continue to be like that.

'The connection we've had over the last couple of weeks has been pretty special and we've both fed off that. I think the supporters have fed off it.

"We have as a group, the players certainly have, and that's something we need to keep building on moving forward, because that's exactly how we wanted it to be. I think we've had a good couple of weeks and we're moving in the right direction. We want to keep building on that."

Already there is talk of Carrick landing the job beyond this season, although the original plan was for the club to eye a new permanent manager come the summer. Carrick's results could make him hard to ignore however with 15 games of the season remaining.

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