Neville’s Man Utd leak after Ratcliffe ‘error’ is bad news for Carrick | Football | Sport

Michael Carrick faces potential disappointment as Manchester United prepare to appoint a permanent manager at the end of this season. Carrick led United to a 2-0 victory against 10-man Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend.

It marked his fourth consecutive win since taking over as interim head coach last month – the first time the side have managed such a run since Erik ten Hag’s reign. The ex-Middlesbrough boss replaced Ruben Amorim midway through a turbulent campaign but has propelled the team to fourth place in the Premier League, putting them firmly in contention for Champions League qualification. Significant victories over Manchester City and Arsenal under Carrick have epitomised an outstanding start to his tenure. While the original plan was for the 44-year-old to occupy the position only until the summer, United’s remarkable form has led some supporters and pundits to call for his permanent appointment.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Spurs, however, Carrick himself stressed there should be no “knee-jerk” decisions regarding the position. And he could be set for a huge blow following suggestions that the club hierarchy are still looking elsewhere for a long-term managerial appointment.

Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously owned up to his own errors in judgement, particularly the impulsive decision to extend Ten Hag’s contract in July 2024 following his FA Cup triumph, which ultimately proved ill-advised. Now, United seem to be adopting a more measured and less reactive strategy, which could mean Carrick might not be considered the right long-term option even if he delivers positive results between now and the season’s end.

Ratcliffe admitted after sacking Ten Hag: “We are not perfect, and we are on a journey and there have been a couple of errors along the way, but I think in the main all the things we are doing are the right things for the club. I agree the Erik ten Tag and [former sporting director] Dan Ashworth decisions were errors. I think there were some mitigating circumstances, but ultimately they were errors. I accept that and I apologise for that.”

Carrick’s former United team-mate Gary Neville has recently reinforced this view, explaining how a club source informed him United have already begun their hunt for the next permanent head coach. This suggests the Old Trafford hierarchy remain unswayed despite Carrick’s encouraging start to life in the role.

Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the former right-back revealed the recruitment process for a new manager has already begun. He said: “I made my position clear a few weeks ago and what I’m not going to do is repeat it every week, but what I did, I actually spoke to the club, because ultimately the club get asked all the time from journalists and broadcasters, what’s the position of the club.

“It’s a very difficult situation, you’ve got a massive movement now with what’s happened towards giving Carrick the job, saying that really he should be considered. That’s only going to build the more that he wins and the more that he gets closer to Champions League football.

“I asked the club what is the official position of the football club in terms of what you’re saying publicly to everybody else. I have to say I thought their answer was pretty good. They said they’ve actually begun the process now, starting to look for another manager, which I thought, ‘Right.’

“That’s good to hear because you need to plan for everything. They’ve started the process of speaking to and looking at other managers, building all the sorts of data and analysing who should be the next manager of the football club. But what they’ve said is they’re not going to be bounced into – irrespective of wins or draws or losses on the pitch in this next couple of months – making an appointment. They’re going to wait until towards the end of the season.”

Carrick managed Middlesbrough in the Championship for two-and-a-half years before his sacking last summer. Prior to his time in the second tier, he was part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff at Old Trafford and also enjoyed a brief caretaker stint after the Norwegian was sacked in 2021. Neville, meanwhile, questioned whether his former United team-mate would even throw his hat into the ring for the permanent role.

The pundit continued: “If Michael then at that point makes himself available for the job, and I did actually say a couple of weeks ago, I wondered whether Michael actually would say no. He is that type of guy Michael, he’s someone who would always work in the best interest of the football club. He may do that, or he might say no, I feel comfortable enough and I’ve built such a good relationship with the players, his coaching staff to put his name in the hat.

“At that point Michael Carrick, like in any other recruitment role in the country for any other business, would go into what would be a process versus the likes of Thomas Tuchel and all the others that are going to become available in the summer. I think that’s fair.”