Alan Shearer has made an interesting prediction about Michael Carrick after he was appointed as the Manchester United head coach for the rest of the season.
Michael Carrick oversaw his first training session as Manchester United head coach on Wednesday, with attention turning to Saturday’s Manchester derby against City.
United are still without a win in 2026 as they prepare to welcome their local rivals to Old Trafford. The year has begun in difficult fashion, with a 1–1 draw against 16th-placed Leeds United followed by a 2–2 stalemate with 19th-placed Burnley, before Brighton eliminated them from the FA Cup on home soil. That run of results ultimately led to the departure of head coach Ruben Amorim.
In the lead-up to the derby, the club confirmed Carrick’s appointment as head coach until the end of the season, with the clash against Manchester City marking his first fixture in charge.
Carrick brings prior experience to the role, having acted as interim manager in November 2021, when he secured victories over Arsenal and Villarreal and earned a 1–1 draw against then-league leaders Chelsea.
Shearer makes interesting Carrick prediction
Many fans are interested to see how Carrick performs as the United boss and Alan Shearer has even stated that he is ‘really interested’ to see how it works.
The ex-striker believes that it is a ‘sensible appointment’ by United and also predicts that Carrick is eyeing the opportunity to land the job permanently.
“Michael will be wanting to do a good job so he can stake a claim to take it long-term, that’s what his motivation will be,” Shearer told Betfair.
“Darren Fletcher managed one defeat and a draw so that didn’t work but it’ll be fascinating to see what Michael does differently to try and get the team up the table.
It’s a sensible appointment for Man United and it’ll be really interesting to see what he can do with that team. It’s purely going to be a game per week from now. He’s got 17 games to get them into Europe.
Neville: Carrick should not be offered permanent job
Some reports have claimed that Carrick is not going to try and take the permanent job although a successful end to the season may change his mind.
Even if that was to happen, Gary Neville believes that his former teammates should not be offered the position even if he wins every game from now until the season ends.
“I mean, to be fair, I’ve got a lot of time for Ole, a lot of time for Ruud, a lot of time for Michael Carrick. I think the three great lads who, to be fair, I hope he does really well,” began Neville.
“There cannot be any consideration that Michael takes the job beyond this season, [even] if he wins every game.”
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