Former Manchester United stars Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have given their opinion on the head coach role.
Michael Carrick is in pole position to land the Manchester United job after his successful spell so far in charge.
Carrick has won six and drawn one of his seven games in charge of Manchester United since he took over in mid-January. He was appointed on a contract until the end of the season.
United are in third place in the Premier League table, on track to qualify for the Champions League. Carrick is winning fans over – and pundits too.
Prove me wrong: Michael Carrick has already shown enough to become permanent Man United manager.
13 points from 15 would be title winning form over a full season…
Nicky Butt backs Michael Carrick
In the latest podcast for The Good, The Bad & Football, former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt believes Michael Carrick will get the job full-time.
Butt stated: “If I was a betting man, I’d be putting money on Michael being the next full time manager.”
Former teammate Paul Scholes noted: “I don’t think they’ve been great the last three games,” before Butt put a positive spin on the recent results, a draw and two wins.
Praising the ‘team spirit and drive’ he has seen from the team, he responded: “It’s a great thing to have that, winning games when not playing well.”
“I think he’ll get the job now. Unless someone jumps out in the next three or four weeks.”
Scholes admits he still has some doubts, oddly pointing to the fact that Manchester United have not lost a game yet under Carrick, to note that those supporting Carrick are doing so based on a very small sample size.
Scholes: “This is a very short period of time. Man Utd could lose next week and it would be a disaster, and everyone changes their opinion.
“He could get the job and then lose the first three games of next season.”
He added: “You have to have a manager you think you can have the league with.”
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Scholes sparks Carlo Ancelotti debate
Paul Scholes was previously backing Thomas Tuchel for the job, only for the England boss to commit his future to the Three Lions with a new contract.
Scholes has now pointed to another World Cup manager, who might be equally hard to tempt away, Carlo Ancelotti.
He said: “I know he’s coach of Brazil, he’s that perfect one, where you think he’ll make players feel an absolute million dollars, and he’s got experience winning stuff.”
Scholes added that there would be a question about Ancelotti’s age, but also pointed to his track record managing Real Madrid, and his man-management being arguably more important than his tactics.
Nicky Butt believes Ancelotti might not be the right fit for Ineos due to his desire for a big say, while Carrick might not have or want the same bargaining power.
He explained: “If they went for someone like Ancelotti, he would want a massive say everything in that football club.
“With Michael, he might say ‘I don’t mind you giving me a little say and opinion on recruitment, but I’ll continue to focus on the grass and on matchday’. That might suit the club more.
“That might be another bonus, where Michael is now, he’s not that super elite manager, he’s not got the experience.
“He’s doing amazing at the minute, but that might suit the powers that be more than someone dictating everything to them, that they obviously don’t want.”
Ineos’ technical director Jason Wilcox clashed with Ruben Amorim leading to his departure at the start of 2026, coupled with an uninspired run of form.
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