"To Protect the Club's Future: Gary Neville Says Michael Carrick Can't Stay at Man Utd After This Season"

GARY NEVILLE claims Manchester United “cannot consider” Michael Carrick beyond the end of the season.

Carrick has been appointed head coach until the Red Devils find a permanent replacement for in the summer.

Gary Neville claims Manchester United “cannot consider” Michael Carrick beyond the end of the seasonCredit: Getty Carrick has been appointed head coach until the Red Devils find a permanent replacement for Ruben Amorim in the summerCredit: Getty

The 44-year-old is tasked with trying to lead the club to qualification and is now gearing up for Saturday’s eagerly-anticipated Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

But Neville cautioned that any manager bounce under Carrick—no matter how impressive—should not be mistaken for a permanent fix.

The former right-back – who played over 130 games for United with Carrick – told the Stick to Football podcast: “I hope Michael does really well.

“But there cannot be any consideration that Michael takes the job beyond the end of this season, for the sake of Michael and the club, even if he wins every single game.

“We could be sat here at the end of the season with the fans up, with the team fifth in the table and back in the Champions League spots, and we could all be getting swayed with it.”

United decided to give former boss Carrick the short-term role in order to allow director of football Jason Wilcox to undergo a thorough recruitment process over the coming months.

Neville namedropped four big names for his ideal long-term managers wishlist- and three of them become free agents after the 2026 World Cup.

He added: “The three that stand out are Tuchel, Ancelotti and Pochettino. They are potentially available after the World Cup.

“Eddie Howe – who has won a trophy, finished in the top four, and managed a big club in Newcastle – is another.”

“To make United an attractive club for players, Tuchel and Ancelotti bring seriousness to matters.

“If you appoint a younger manager, United will miss out on players.
“United are going to miss out on a lot of players anyway, but someone like Ancelotti would encourage players to come.

“They need that right now, because I’m not sure players are queuing up to join unless there is someone to believe in.”

Neville also refused to believe that United director of football Jason Wilcox referenced Neville’s criticism in his final heated meeting with Amorim.

In Amorim’s infamous mic-drop rant at Leeds he said : “If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticism of everything, we need to change the club.”

Neville accepted the decision to sack Amorim but said he felt “sad” hearing the names linked with taking over on a caretaker basis.

“When Amorim was dismissed and you started hearing the names Michael, , , it felt a bit sad, like ‘we’re here again’.

“We’ve seen this movie before. We’ve been there before with Ole, with Giggsy when was sacked.

“I don’t think there was any other option for the club right now. Most United fans will agree with the decision to get to the end of the season because of the managers who are becoming available.

“But they must be thinking they’re going to get one of the big ones, otherwise they wouldn’t have appointed a bridge now.”

Former captain Keane mentioned Atletico Madrid boss and Paris St Germain head coach Luis Enrique as potential options and snapped back when Neville suggested the latter was unrealistic.

Keane said: “United should be thinking ‘let’s try and get the best of the best’.”