Carrick insists he still loves managing United despite sack talk and 16th-place crisis

Michael Carrick has rejected suggestions he is ready to be sacked as Manchester United manager, insisting he still relishes the role despite the club’s worst Premier League start since 1986/87 leaving them 16th in the table ahead of Saturday’s trip to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

United have taken just seven points from their opening eight league matches, winning only twice in 12 games across all competitions. The run prompted the club’s hierarchy to hold crisis talks with Carrick earlier in the week, with director of football Jason Wilcox among those involved in discussions. Names including Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte have been considered as potential replacements.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher had claimed on the Stick to Football podcast that Carrick privately wants the ordeal to end. “I think Michael Carrick would want to be put out of his misery. I really do,” Carragher said. “Those players know Michael Carrick’s not going to be there in two or three weeks. He knows it, they know it, everybody knows it.”

Carrick, 45, fired back directly. “Honestly, there’s not a hardest thing about it,” he said. “It’s a great position to be in. I love being in this position, I love the responsibility and having an element of control of trying to make a difference, and trying to guide this club in a certain direction.”

“I still enjoy it. I know people question that at times, but I certainly do enjoy it. I still enjoyed this week as much as ever because that’s when we’ve got to dig deep as a group and see sticking together as part of it. It doesn’t change the motivation, and it doesn’t change what we want to achieve. We can still be close to flipping things and moving forward.”

Carrick also held a clear-the-air meeting with Bruno Fernandes this week after dropping the captain for last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth — a decision made in response to Fernandes’s public criticism of the tactics used against Como. Gary Neville had said after that result that he expected Carrick to be dismissed.

With United desperate for points and the manager’s future hanging on results, Saturday’s early kick-off at Stamford Bridge represents a pivotal moment in what has become a deeply troubled start to the season.