Paul Scholes revealed who he thought Michael Carrick would be managing next season, and it’s not the Red Devils.
Michael Carrick has made an immediate impact at Manchester United since he was appointed as interim boss. The former United stalwart orchestrated victories against the top two in the Premier League and has seemingly transformed the way the side plays.
Ruben Amorim being sacked was undoubtedly controversial amongst United fans and the footballing world in general. Amorim was sacked after speaking out against the board, which left a sour taste in a lot of supporters’ mouths.
However, the Portuguese coach did receive a fair amount of criticism leading up to his departure, criticism which has been identified by Carrick and seemingly dealt with in his first two games at the helm. Kobbie Mainoo seems to be playing with a new lease of life, potentially as a result of Carrick’s experience and guidance, and the team in general seems to be playing with more cohesion.
As it stands, Carrick has become a top candidate for the permanent job in the summer after his incredible start to life in his second spell as interim boss. But one of his former teammates seems to think the 44-year-old’s future lies at a different team in the division.
Scholes believes Carrick’s future is not at Old Trafford
Unlike Roy Keane, Paul Scholes has been full of praise for the individual he made 160 appearances with in the heart of United’s midfield, but believes that Carrick’s future may not be destined to manage at Old Trafford in the long-term.
Speaking on his podcast, The Good, The Bad, & The Football, Scholes said: “He’s come into the job now and it’s been that bad for a year that it couldn’t really get any worse so the pressure isn’t really on you while you’re interim manager.
“Once you take that job full-time, at the start of the season next year, let’s say, all of a sudden you’ve got to be winning games straightaway. They will be scarred a little bit from the Ole [Gunnar Solksjaer] thing. If the Ole thing hadn’t have happened then it would probably be more likely.
“But if Michael has got to go up against, say, Thomas Tuchel in the summer then there’s only one winner if you’re looking at coaching big clubs and winning big prizes so you can’t really compete with that.”
When speculating where Carrick may go if he doesn’t land the permanent job at Old Trafford, Scholes speculated: “It could be like a Tottenham manager from this [for Carrick]. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
United may thrive under Carrick, having little pressure
Manchester United pre-Amorim had a side depleted of confidence, seemingly playing without any freedom or enjoyment, which hampered results and displayed a lack of fighting spirit from both the manager and the players.
After a change of regime, players like Patrick Dorgu and the already mentioned Mainoo are seemingly being allowed to display more creativity and freedom in their roles, which will undoubtedly aid their development for the rest of the campaign.
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United will hope to build on their two previous victories, with a favourable run of fixtures which could see them create a gap between other clubs fighting for top four.
There is still plenty of football to be played, but under a new system and seemingly rejuvenated confidence and energy, the Red Devils’ season looks have been injected with optimism, and there is a positive feeling throughout the fanbase as we head towards the business end of the season.
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