New hair? Don’t care! Man United boss Michael Carrick says fan who has gone 492 without haircut until they win five games in a row will not NOT be in his team talk after four back-to-back wins

Michael Carrick has many reasons as to why he wants to see Manchester United make it five wins in a row under him when they face West Ham on Tuesday night – but it’s fair to say that enabling Frank Ilett to get a haircut is not high on his list of priorities.

Ilett, otherwise known as The United Strand on social media, will be live-streaming during the game in the hope of ending a near 500-day wait.

The United fan, who went viral after saying he wouldn’t get a trim until United won five straight games, might finally get his wish after Carrick masterminded a remarkable revival at Old Trafford.

‘I can say I’m aware of it, yeah. My kids have made me aware of it, if anything,’ said Carrick.

‘It certainly won’t go into the team talk, from a professional level. I can understand and what’s going on with it and it does make me smile but it won’t have an impact ultimately in the end.’

After beating Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham, Carrick believes that a Hammers side sitting third from bottom in the Premier League will pose a different challenge for his team.

‘I think you’ve got to go into the game understanding the situation of both teams,’ he added. ‘We’ve tried to paint that picture to the players in every game we’ve played so far, and it’ll be the same come Tuesday night. The type of game, the feel of the game, what kind of skills we’re going to have to try and draw on.

‘Different games throw up different things and teams towards the bottom of the league are really fighting for things. But so are we, and we’ve got a lot to fight for, so you’d like to think that balances out in some ways. It’s who can come out on top at the end of it.

‘But sure, we’re totally aware of what we’re going into on Tuesday night and how difficult it will be.’

Carrick doesn’t expect Mason Mount or Matthijs De Ligt to be available as the two players continue to work their way back from injury, although Mount should return at Everton in two weeks’ time.

‘Mason will be probably not (return) for Tuesday,’ said Carrick. ‘Probably after, but definitely going into the Everton game, yeah, he’ll be back.

‘We’ll see how Matthijs develops over the Everton game. It feels like a long time away at the moment, but he’s positive and he’s moving in the right direction, but Mason’s a little bit closer than him.’

There is a feelgood factor around the club again after Carrick’s impressive return to Old Trafford. And while Carrick has stressed that his team must keep their feet on the ground, even the level-headed United boss admits it would be boring not to enjoy the club’s revival.

‘You’ve got to enjoy the buzz of winning, right? You have to. That’s what we’re in it for,’ said Carrick. ‘So you’ve got to manage the highs of it and you’ve got to enjoy initially the feeling of winning a game. You can’t just be flat-lined the whole time.

‘You definitely take the confidence and the feeling from the games that you’ve had knowing you can go into the next game with a little bit more feelgood factor about it.

‘You’ve still got to allow yourself to feel the waves of emotion with it because you’re all a little bit boring and pointless if you didn’t. Winning games is what we’re all strive for so the boys have been good.

‘I guess the big challenge is knowing what’s got you there, and all the hard work and the preparation. What it takes to win a game of football at this level is tough, so never assume the next one’s just going to be alright.’

Asked if he would take a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s book by tearing a strip off his players even when they win a game, Carrick smiled and said: ‘There’s a time and a place for everything!’

Captain Bruno Fernandes heaped praise on Carrick after the 2-0 win over Spurs as momentum builds behind calls for the 44-year-old to be installed on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

‘It’s obviously nice when players that you respect, as I do with Bruno a lot, say good things about you,’ said Carrick.

‘But ultimately it’s about getting the best out of the team. So, time will tell. It’s not about judging how good or successful at this moment in time, because nothing’s really happened yet. We’ve hopefully got a lot more to do between now and the end of the season, and see what happens after that.

‘I’ve known Bruno for quite some time. He’s a really intelligent footballer. He’s bright and he cares a lot for this club. So in terms of that side of it, we all want the same thing.’