Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has praised interim head coach Michael Carrick, but stopped short of backing him to take over on a full-time basis.
United appointed Carrick on a contract until the end of the season in January after the sacking of manager Ruben Amorim.
The 44-year-old former United midfielder suffered his first defeat as a manager last time out against Newcastle, but remains the bookmakers’ favorite to land the full-time job after steadying the ship at Old Trafford and helping the club climb to third in the Premier League standings.
Asked by Sky Sports’ Craig Slater at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai what he thought of Carrick’s job, Ratcliffe replied: “He’s doing a great job. Yeah, definitely.”
But on whether Carrick could earn a permanent role, Ratcliffe said: “I’m not going there.”
United visit Aston Villa on Sunday in a crucial game in the race for Champions League qualification, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Asked about qualifying for Europe’s top club competition, Ratcliffe said: “Yes, obviously we are thinking about it, but we still have seven or eight games to go. There’s still time.”
Sky Sports’ Gary Neville said earlier this month that Carrick would be “in the box seat” in a full-time position.
“Their run was a shock to everyone,” Neville said in early March. “Michael never dreamed this would happen. (He’s) sitting in the box for the job. Looking at what’s happening now, I think they can qualify for the Champions League.”
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Gary Neville is confident Manchester United will qualify for the Champions League and believes Michael Carrick is currently the frontrunner to take over as manager at Old Trafford.
Neville’s sentence came before United’s come-from-behind victory over Crystal Palace, with former United midfielder Paul Scholes questioning Carrick’s quality after the 2-1 defeat at Newcastle.
And fellow pundit Jamie Carragher believes Sunday’s opponent’s manager, Unai Emery, is the best man to revive United in the long term.
“I don’t think[Mr Emery]ranks high among the candidates,” Carragher wrote in a column for the Telegraph. “This is good news for Aston Villa, but it will be frustrating for one of Europe’s best and still most underrated managers.
“By any standard, he would be the perfect manager to revive United. Emery has won trophies, has a clear footballing vision, has a track record of reinvigorating clubs that need a small revolution to qualify for the Champions League, and is a manager who commands with authority but commands respect.”
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Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick believes former teammate Paul Scholes’ social media posts may have been taken out of context.
Carrick tells United to ’embrace’ Villa clash
Manchester United were level on points with Unai Emery’s side at the weekend, but have moved further up the Premier League table on goal difference after an impressive two months.
United have surged up the table with six wins from eight games, and Carrick will be keen for his players to bounce back from their previous blunders.
“It’s always about what happens next, how you react, whether you win or not,” Carrick said in his pregame press conference.
“What’s the reaction going to be? What’s the feeling within the group? What’s the motivation for the next game? And we’ll take it forward.
“I understand it’s going to feel a little different because it’s my first loss, but it will come at some point.
“It’s a tough league. Most if not all teams have struggled with that recently, so we’re putting things into perspective and positioning ourselves to improve. We’ve shown (recent games) as a group and what we can achieve and have a lot of confidence in how we play.”
“This is an important game and we can’t run away from it. It’s a great game.
“We’re in a situation where we have so much to play right now, so we’re really embracing the situation and looking forward to the next game.”
Mason Mount could return from a two-month layoff, but Patrick Dorg, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt remain sidelined.
