Neville 'absolutely certain' Carrick was gone as United back embattled manager

Gary Neville has revealed he was convinced Michael Carrick’s time as Manchester United manager was over following Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, only to be caught off guard when the club chose to keep faith with the 45-year-old head coach.

Carrick survived emergency talks at United’s Carrington training ground on Monday and took a normal session on Tuesday ahead of a Premier League fixture against Chelsea. The decision came despite United winning just two of their 12 games across all competitions this season and sitting 16th in the table — the club’s worst start since 1986/87.

“I’m happy. I’m surprised but I’m happy because I was absolutely certain what I witnessed on Sunday would be the end of Michael,” Neville said. “It looked like when he was walking around at the end on his own, with his players behind him, that it was a goodbye lap. He was waving to the fans in an almost apologetic manner but also as a goodbye.”

Neville added that the coming weeks would be critical: “How it’s going to go over the next couple of weeks, I have no idea. I hope he can get those players playing for him because they haven’t played for him in the last few weeks.”

The Bournemouth loss followed a heavy Champions League defeat to Como, heaping further pressure on Carrick. The head coach himself acknowledged uncertainty about his future after the final whistle at Old Trafford. “It’s a tough situation, there’s no hiding from it,” he said. “But what it looks like and what’s next, I really don’t know. I will always do what’s best for this football club.”

United have explored potential replacements, with Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte all considered. Director of football Jason Wilcox is reported to favour Howe, while director of recruitment Christopher Vivell is said to prefer Nagelsmann — a division within the hierarchy that may have contributed to the decision to give Carrick more time rather than act immediately.