The 44-year-old spoke ahead of Mnchester United's final game of the season at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, a week after being confirmed as permanent head coach on a two-year contract.
Carrick was measured in framing the coming transfer window, resisting the temptation to overstate its significance while making clear the rebuild still has some way to go.
"I think the beauty of the next transfer window — for everybody, it's always the biggest thing in the world, and the most important transfer window of all time, for every club," he said.
"That's just the nature of how it's been created. As a football club, you want to keep moving forward. We certainly do. There's obviously work to do. With certain players leaving, there's a bit of work to do. But this one is not any more important than the last one — it's what's ahead of us as a football club to try and make the most of it."
The scale of the task is clear. Casemiro departs as a free agent this summer. Marcus Rashford, André Onana, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Højlund are all expected to be sold as United continue their squad overhaul. Gianluca Di Marzio has reported that United have agreed a fee of around £46 million with Atalanta for midfielder Ederson, while Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United has been identified as Carrick's primary midfield target.
Despite the departures and the business ahead, Carrick has been encouraged by the development of younger players during his 16 games in charge. Kobbie Mainoo returned to the team after being frozen out by Ruben Amorim. Amad, Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro have also impressed.
"I've seen development, a lot of development, in different ways," Carrick said. "Sometimes the feeling of being comfortable is the best way of being here. Having an element of success, having an element of a few challenges, and you come through it — you understand what it takes to get through it. I think there's some leadership examples, some show it a little bit more vocally, but you can definitely see each and every player grow when you're moving in the right direction."
On whether his summer holiday plans would be disrupted by transfer business, he deflected with characteristic understatement: "It's the kids' exams that are getting in the way at the moment. A-levels and GCSEs — that's stopping me from booking anything."
United won 11 of 16 matches under Carrick. They finish third.