Michael Carrick has lost just one of his 10 games in charge at Man Utd and there is a reason he is now the odds-on favourite to get the job permanently.
What started out in January as a long list of potential Manchester United head coaches for next season should have shrunk considerably over the previous three months, thanks to the man currently sitting in the hot seat.
Michael Carrick’s run of 23 points from a possible 30, with just one defeat in his 10 games in charge, has significantly strengthened his own candidacy to the extent that it should have ruled plenty of others out.
When Carrick was handed the reins until the end of the season just over two months ago, there were numerous potential targets and several current Premier League bosses in the frame.
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Now, it feels like Carrick has seen off those potential challengers. Oliver Glasner remains second or third favourite with most bookmakers, but his time at Crystal Palace isn’t ending particularly positively. He has already been beaten by Carrick, and his back-three system is an obvious sticking point.
So impressive has Carrick’s reign been, featuring wins over potential rivals for the job in Glasner, Marco Silva and Unai Emery and a draw with Andoni Iraola, that it’s difficult to see the sense in promoting someone from a mid-ranking Premier League club now.
Thomas Frank’s experiences at Tottenham show how difficult it is to make the leap from an upwardly mobile but ultimately under-the-radar club to one of the league’s supposed elite. At least Carrick has shown he can deal with the Old Trafford pressures, has the players on his side and can get results.
That counts for an awful lot when there are so many unknowns about other potential candidates, such as Glasner and Iraola, or even Gareth Southgate, who somehow still features highly in the betting.
Carrick has stabilised United and has them on course for a return to the Champions League. His approach to the job has delivered a sense of calm to Old Trafford that has been absent for an awful long time and that will count for a lot among the club’s executives.
Old Trafford insiders continue to insist that the process to recruit a new head coach will be a thorough one and that there is no rush to make a decision. Although United have only seven games remaining, there is plenty of time left in the season and there isn’t likely to be an early coronation of the kind bestowed on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seven years ago.
United have been impressed with the work Carrick has done. While there is no guarantee he will get the job, it now feels like it’s either Carrick or one of the very few elite managers the club might be able to attract to Old Trafford.
Top of that list will be Luis Enrique, the Paris St-Germain boss who has a glittering CV and an attractive style of play. He has previously expressed an interest in working in the Premier League and speaks excellent English. The question is whether the rebuilding project at United would be attractive enough to Enrique, whose PSG side look to be coming to the boil at the perfect time again this season.
Another ‘elite-level’ contender is Julian Nagelsmann. He is leading Germany into the World Cup this summer and has a contract with the German Football Association that runs until 2028, which would make it a difficult appointment, but he has a long-standing relationship with the director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, and experience managing a super club in Bayern Munich.
For many, the choice of head coach is now down to these three. There could be more twists and turns to come, but with every passing week, Carrick is doing his bit to rule others out.
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