MICHAEL CARRICK was ready to walk away from management before Manchester United came calling, according to Old Trafford icon Nicky Butt.
The former midfielder, 45, was until the end of the season when Ruben Amorim was axed in January.
And, after guiding United to Champions League qualification, Carrick was .
However, Butt insists his close pal planned to quit the dugout until Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co offered a route back to Old Trafford.
The Red Devils legend told The Good, The Bad & The Football : “I was with Michael before he got the United job and speaking to him about management.
“He went, ‘no, it’s not for me. It’s too much and my head’s all over the shop. I’ll only do it for the big job and the big job is United’.
There are fears that Carrick’s reign is his spell in charge of Middlesbrough came to an end.
The five-time Premier League title winner had a three-year spell in the Riverside hotseat.
But Carrick failed to spearhead Middlesbrough to promotion from the Championship before being brutally axed.
And he has now guided United to their .
The Red Devils have only notched one Premier League win since the campaign got underway.
And the new term went from bad to worse when United allowed Tottenham to on Saturday.
Former Old Trafford favourite Paul Scholes has brutally blasted Carrick’s squad following a disastrous run of form.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football, he said: “It’s a team of bottlers, really.
“This is the time where you put yourself in a position to win leagues. I will put money on this team getting to December – when they might be sixth or seventh in the league and struggling in the .
“All of a sudden they’ll start winning because people aren’t really that bothered about you anymore.
“ know they should win a lot of games of football. They’ve got a lot of very good players.
“But they’ve got to win when it matters. Now is when it matters. When you get to January, your season is done.
“You’re not going to win anything then. They look vulnerable. They look like any team could beat them.”
United will be aiming to spark their season into life when they face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday – but they are .
