Keane tells 'lucky boy' Carrick to deliver at Chelsea or face the sack

Michael Carrick kept his job as Manchester United manager following emergency talks with CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Jason Wilcox, but faces a defining Premier League trip to Chelsea on Saturday with his side winless in eight and sitting 16th in the table.

United have won just two of their 12 matches in all competitions this season. Their only Premier League victory came in a 5-2 opening-day win over newly-promoted Ipswich Town, and Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth appeared to signal the end of Carrick’s tenure. The club ultimately chose not to pull the trigger, with viable replacements scarce and a reported dressing room dispute resolved during the talks.

Roy Keane, speaking alongside Gary Neville on the Stick to Football podcast, was blunt in his assessment of the situation. “When he got the job last year and Carrick went in there, we said from day one we didn’t think he was probably good enough long term,” Keane said. “It’s alright managing a few games, all of a sudden, then you’ve got to manage the football club, preseason, expectations, recruitment. They were getting results last year and people were saying you’ve got to give him the job because of results. All of a sudden, they’re not getting the results. ‘Oh, it’s the board, it’s Wilcox. It’s somebody else.’”

Keane did not spare Carrick’s backroom staff either, naming assistants Jonny Evans, Jonathan Woodgate and Steve Holland alongside the manager. “They’re lucky boys to be still involved at Manchester United,” he said. “They have to grow a pair and start getting results on Saturday. Get a result at Chelsea.”

Meanwhile, United legends Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have weighed in on the managerial succession debate. Appearing on their podcast The Good, The Bad & The Football, both men were presented with a list of 11 candidates and asked to identify suitable replacements should Carrick be dismissed. They agreed on three names, with Antonio Conte among those discussed — though Scholes and Butt differed on his suitability.