Former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has confirmed he has discussed plans to appoint a new permanent head coach with his former club.
Gary Neville talks about Manchester United’s future (Image: Gary Neville Podcast on YouTube)
Gary Neville claims Manchester United have already begun the search for their next head coach, showing that the hierarchy at Old Trafford is unfazed by Michael Carrick’s smooth arrival.
Carrick, 44, has made a seismic shift since taking over from the sacked Ruben Amorim last month, with Saturday’s 2-0 win at Tottenham making it four wins from four for the former Middlesbrough manager. This run of results marks the first time United have won four games on spin since Erik ten Hag’s reign, and has led to calls for Carrick to be considered for the long-term job at United.
Speaking on the eve of Saturday’s match, Carrick himself insisted there could be no “opportunistic” decision regarding the role.
And Neville revealed on the Gary Neville Podcast that the process of appointing a new role is already underway. “I made my position clear a few weeks ago and I’m not going to repeat it every week, but what I’ve done is actually talked to the club because at the end of the day clubs are always asked by journalists and broadcasters what their position is.
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“It’s a very difficult situation. There’s a huge movement now towards giving Carrick the job and insisting that he should really be considered. The more he wins and the closer he gets to Champions League football, the bigger it will be.”
“I asked the club what is the official position of the football club in terms of what you are saying publicly to other people. I have to say their answer was pretty good. They actually said they have now started the process and are starting to look for another manager, which I thought was right.”
“I’m happy about that because you have to plan for everything. They’ve started the process of talking to other managers, looking into it, building all kinds of data and analyzing who should be the next manager of the football club. But what they’ve said is that they’re not going to bounce back on naming a manager, regardless of wins or losses on the pitch over the next few months. They’re going to wait towards the end of the season.”
Carrick has made the perfect start to the Manchester United job but may not get the job full-time (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Carrick played for Middlesbrough for two-and-a-half years in the Championship before being released by the club last summer. Prior to his second-tier stint, he was part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff at Old Trafford, briefly holding the job on an interim basis following the Norwegian’s sacking in 2021.
However, Neville questioned whether his former teammate would actually put his name forward for the full-time role, given the club’s current situation.
He added: “If Michael was available for the job at that point, which I actually said a few weeks ago, I wondered if Michael would actually say no. He’s the type of guy Michael is, someone who always works in the best interests of the football club. He might do it or he might say no. I feel comfortable enough and have built a good relationship with the players and his coaching staff to put his name on the line.”
“At that point Michael Carrick, like recruiters at other companies in the country, will be looking at what the process will be like compared to Thomas Tuchel and other people who will be hired in the summer. I think that’s fair.”
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