Interim coach earns footballing chief’s praise but future at Manchester United remains uncertain
This week Michael Carrick received a glowing endorsement from Manchester United minority owner and footballing chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Carrick has had an impressive start as interim coach, guiding the club to six wins out of eight, and the British billionaire sang his praises. But then Ratcliffe stopped just short of commenting on the 44-year-old’s prospects of securing the role on a permanent basis.
Carrick was handed the reins at Old Trafford until the end of the season following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim and is on course to guiding United back to the Champions League after a two-year absence.
Despite suffering his first defeat in charge in a narrow loss to Newcastle United, Ratcliffe was pleased with the positive impact Carrick has had on the squad.
“He’s doing an excellent job. Yeah, absolutely,” Ratcliffe said. However, when pressed on whether the interim manager had done enough to be considered for the role beyond the summer, Ratcliffe shut it down saying he was “not going there”.
United’s minority owner did, however, admit that the prospect of a top-four finish and a return to Europe’s elite competition is something the club are deeply invested in.
“Yes, clearly we’re thinking about that,” Ratcliffe said. “But there’s still seven or eight games to go. Still a while yet.”
According to sources close to the club, Carrick has impressed the hierarchy with both the performance of his team on the pitch and his ability to handle questions in press conferences.
The United job comes with a lot of attention and Carrick has generally managed this by being boring somewhat, giving routine answers to questions and generally not putting out anything for the media to bite.
A part of this is down to his natural ability with the English language but it also comes down to his media training as a long-time United player. A number of United’s previous managers have not been overly successful in keeping their comments in check and avoiding intense spotlight.
Ratcliffe’s comments mean that Carrick’s future is far from certain at the club. It seems highly likely the hierarchy will wait until the end of the season before making any decisions. Should he eventually depart at the end of the season, however, his stock has undoubtedly risen and he would not be short of alternative options elsewhere.
