Roy Keane has criticised Michael Carrick since Manchester United appointed the former Middlesbrough manager as their interim head coach – but he is not bothered

Michael Carrick insists he is not ‘bothered’ by criticism and critique from the likes of Roy Keane and Gary Neville.

Carrick, 44, has made an impressive start to his second spell at Manchester United following his appointment as head coach until the end of the campaign after taking over from Ruben Amorim. The club’s former midfielder has secured four victories and one draw from his opening five fixtures at the helm.

That sequence of results has propelled United to fourth place in the Premier League table. They are now just five points behind third-placed Aston Villa and eight off Manchester City.

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However, upon his appointment, Carrick faced scrutiny from Keane, who questioned his suitability. Keane stated last month that he was “concerned” about Carrick’s arrival and suggested the club are a “circus act at the moment”.

Speaking to the BBC, Carrick has now made clear he remains untroubled by criticism from Keane and fellow pundits. When questioned whether he must ‘accept’ and ‘shut out’ external comment, Carrick responded: “It doesn’t bother me one bit. Genuinely, it doesn’t. I’m not going to really fall out with anyone over that.

“I think it’s a respect thing as much as anything, and I’ll give and take that. I think for younger players in general, it’s something we need to help them with and look after them. It’s a different world now to when, say, I was coming through, but we do that, and we look after them.”

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Carrick is being considered for the permanent position at United this summer, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was seven years ago. United are also exploring alternative candidates, including Julian Nagelsmann and Roberto De Zerbi, whilst Thomas Tuchel is committed to remaining as England manager until at least 2028.

Carrick, who featured in over 450 matches during his playing career at Old Trafford, has hinted at his ambition to become United’s next permanent head coach, describing it as the “ultimate role”. He said: “I’m really enjoying it, I love what I’m doing.

“I’m fortunate. I feel privileged to be in the position I am, but it’s not the fact that I believe I can do it, and I’m here to do it.

“I said it when I came in – there’s the sentimental side of that… of understanding the role and coming through the club and being here and loving the club and being a supporter and all that side of it is one thing. But actually, I’m here to do a job now, and to make a good team, and be successful.

“I don’t decide how long that’s going to be, but I love being here, and whilst I’m here, I’ll give everything I can. And I always plan for the long-term future for the benefit of the football club. That’s how I believe it should be.”

United travel to Everton on Monday for their next Premier League clash. The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 in the corresponding fixture back in November, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall netting the only goal in the first half.

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Rahul Chahar receiving India cap from Virat Kohli

India leg-spinner Rahul Chahar has announced his separation from his wife Ishani Johar, nearly four years after their marriage. The couple got married in 2022 in a ceremony held in Goa.The 26-year-old shared the update about his personal life through a post on Instagram on Friday (February 20), confirming that the marriage has legally ended. In the note, Rahul reflected on his experiences and what he learned over the years.In a lengthy social media post on Instagram, Rahul Chahar exclaimed that he had entered marriage at a young age before wholly understanding himself and what he wanted to build.“I entered marriage at a young age, before I fully understood myself, my worth, or the life I truly wanted to build. What followed were years of lessons I never expected, and the last fifteen months spent navigating courtrooms, learning patience, resilience, and the strength that some from in truth,” Rahul said.The leg-spinner said the chapter of his life has now formally ended and that he has no regrets.“Today, that chapter of my life formally comes to a close. After due legal process, the matter has been settled with my resolution that costed a lot, bringing finality to this phase of my life. I close this chapter not with anger or regret, but with clarity. Some relationships are not meant to last forever they are meant to awaken us, teach us, and transform us,” the leg-spinner said.On the cricket front, Rahul Chahar has not had regular opportunities in the IPL in recent seasons after an early run with Mumbai Indians. He last played for India in 2021, having made his international debut in 2019.He initially went unsold in the first round of the IPL 2026 mini auction, but Chennai Super Kings later signed him for Rs 5.20 crore to strengthen their spin attack. He will look to revive his form this season.

The striker is on loan from Manchester United to Napoli with the Italian side having the option to make the deal permanent

Manchester United loanee Rasmus Hojlund has said that he’s a “different player” to the one who left the club back in the summer. The striker joined Serie A side Napoli on loan for the season.

The 23-year-old has made 32 appearances in all competitions, scoring 12 goals and providing four assists. His latest goals came in a brace in the 3-2 away win against Genoa earlier this month.

He has been praised for his performances in Italy, where he plays under former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte. Hojlund has opened up on how the Italian has helped him develop.

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Speaking to Il Mattino, Hojlund said: “I still have a lot to learn, and I’m sure Conte is the right coach to help me grow in many ways. Compared to Rasmus in August, I’m a different player. I’m still improving, and even though I’m not very young, I’m sure I still have a lot of room for improvement.”

On Conte, he added: “He’s mentally incredibly strong. I’m fascinated by his mentality: he’s passionate, fierce. And he’s a winner. In fact, a serial winner. And if he doesn’t win, we immediately understand that we haven’t won.”

Hojlund joined United from Atalanta in the summer of 2023 for an initial fee of £64million, but struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford, leading him to sign on loan for Napoli.

The Serie A side have an option to make the fee permanent in the summer for a fee of £38million. Fellow loanee Marcus Rashford is in a similar situation, with Barcelona having the option to make his loan deal permanent for a £26million fee.

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With both players impressing, it makes it more likely that both clubs will take up those options. That would provide United with a £64million boost in the summer transfer window.

Those potential fees could help the club to fund fees for potential incomings. United are expected to look at midfield options when the summer window opens.

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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.

Kompany was also critical of Mourinho for using Eusebio’s name as supposed proof that Benfica is not a racist club.

“Do you know what black players had to go through in the 1960s?” added the former Manchester City captain and Burnley boss.

“Was he (Mourinho) there to travel with Eusebio to every away game?

“Probably at the time the only option they had was to be quiet, to say nothing, be above it and to be 10 times better in order to get a little bit of credit for people to say ‘actually, he is good’.

“That was Eusebio’s life.”

Kompany, who also spoke about racial abuse he experienced as a player, said talk of Vinicius’ celebration should not distract from the player’s immediate response to Prestianni’s alleged remarks.

“I’m just thinking when Jose Mourinho is doing the knee slide at Old Trafford, when he does his celebration in front of the [Barcelona] fans in the Champions League semi-final with Inter Milan, when his Roma are playing Sevilla and he is fighting with the referee and the referee has to leave the country under protection,” he added.

“I know one hundred people who have worked with Jose Mourinho. I’ve never heard a person say anything bad about Jose.

“I understand he is fighting for his team and his club. You cannot be a bad person and have all the ex players you have had talk so positively about you.

“I don’t need to judge him as a person but I know what I’ve heard. And I understand maybe what he has done, but he has made a mistake.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the impact for Manchester City on Arsenal’s draw at Wolves this week.

Pep Guardiola said that he does not know how Manchester City will react to Arsenal’s draw at Wolves as he looks to keep all title race talk out of the Etihad. The Blues can close the gap at the top of the Premier League table to two points on Saturday but Guardiola will not let it be framed in those terms.

With a third of the season still to be completed, City’s manager insists that there are many twists and turns still to come in a title race that has become more interesting over the last fortnight as Arsenal have opened the door to City. The title race is in the hands of both teams given they play each other at the Etihad in April.

As the country leans into that excitement, Guardiola refuses to let his team get ahead of themselves ahead of their fourth meeting of the season with Newcastle. The City boss said that he had not spent one second with his squad talking about the title race or Arsenal’s results.

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“Many things are going to happen until the end of the season. 70 per cent of the players are new so they don’t have that experience of these kind of situations. Experience is win tomorrow.

“12 games is a lot. Newcastle is all I am concerned with. I’m not concerned with the League Cup final with Arsenal until it comes. Now it’s rest and after Leeds. You want to anticipate what is going to happen, who is going to be champion but that doesn’t count. It’s Newcastle.

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“I didn’t speak one second about that with my players. Yesterday and the day before it was Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle. I didn’t talk about the position or the table. I could not care less. It’s 12 games. Ask me this question with two or three games and I will answer but 12 games left is an eternity.”

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Man Utd’s decision-makers have considered arranging a mid-season friendly abroad.

Michael Carrick has confirmed Manchester United are still considering arranging a mid-season friendly abroad. United crashed out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup at the first hurdle this season.

Failure to secure European football this season has contributed to United playing the fewest games in a campaign since 1914/15. United will play just 40 matches, which has led club chiefs to consider organising a mid-season friendly abroad to bank millions in revenue.

United have an 11-day gap between games from playing Newcastle on March 4 and Aston Villa on March 15. The Reds then have a 22-day gap between playing Bournemouth on March 20 and facing Leeds on April 11, although the first weekend of that is an international break.

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When asked if United could still organise a mid-season friendly, Carrick said: “It just depends on a lot of things really. I don’t think there is a black and white answer with that one. We will make a call.

“And there is an area in between where it would depend on where the game is, what it is like, what time it is, when the fixtures fall. It is not straightforward, but it is something if we need to look at we can do if it is best for the players.”

Speaking at the start of the month, Carrick said about the prospect of a mid-season friendly abroad: “It might happen or it might not, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

United are next in action against Everton at the Hill Dickson Stadium on Monday night.

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Stephen A. Smith recently claimed late-night comedy hosts had rattled Trump and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), further adding that the hosts brought the FCC controversy on themselves. This came after late night television host Stephen Colbert claimed that CBS pulled his interview with Texas state Representative James Talarico for fear of FCC’s retaliation.

Talarico was scheuled to appear on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show on February 16, 2026. However, the interview did not air on the network and was instead uploaded on the show’s YouTube page. During the Monday episode, Colbert also explained why the interview, where he and Talarico spoke about the politician’s Democratic nomination for Senate and the recent FCC crackdown, didn’t air on CBS.

Radio host Stephen A. Smith addressed the controvesy during the February 19 episode of Straight Shooter. He questioned why late night comedy hosts targeted only Trump and didn’t go after everybody, saying:

“This is my issue: These are brilliant late-night hosts who are comedic geniuses. Why not go after everybody? See, the problem is, everybody talked about Trump so much that it was so one-sided cause it’s clear, you know, the disgust and the vitriol he evokes and they felt for him. You’ve got to hit everybody when you’re a comedian. Nobody is supposed to be safe. No one is supposed to be spared.”

He added:

“Hell, when I go into a place, I expect them to be teasing me about my hairline… So what? That’s what comedians do. Late night stopped doing that when it came to practically everybody else but Trump… Had they spared no one, Trump and his influence over the FCC clearly exist, none of that would have been enough for them to invoke their wishes the way that they’ve tried.”

Trump previously hinted at FCC revoking the license of televison broadcasters

During the February 16 episode of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert explained why his interview with Texas state Representative James Talarico did not air in CBS. Durign his statement, the television host suggested that CBS lawyers told him they could not have the policitian on the broadcast and also supposedly prohibited Colbert from talking about the incident on the broadcast.

“He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast. Then, then I was told in some uncertain terms that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on. And because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this,” Colbert said.

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According to NBC News, CBS denied this claim in an emailed statement, saying that the network did not prohibit Colbert or The Late Show from airing the episode. The statement further added that the talk show was provided “legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates.”

For those uninformed, the FCC‘s equal time rule prohibits networks and radios from hosting political candidates durign the election season without giving equal airtime to the opponents. However, Colbert claimed that the rule did not apply to talk show interviews with political candidate.

Meanwhile, Brendan Carr, the chairman of Trump’s FCC, addressed the controversy during an FCC meeting meeting on February 18, saying that the media should “feel a bit ashamed for having been lied to and then run with those lies.”

This is not the first time the FCC has clashed with late night shows in recent times. In September 2025, Brendan Carr strongly condemned Jimmy Kimmel‘s comments regarding Charlie Kirk’s supposed assassin during an episode of his late-night talk show, resulting in ABC temporarily suspending the program.

At the time, Trump praised the decision and suggested that the FCC could revoke the license of broadcasters that gave him “bad publicity” saying:

“I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr. I think Brendan Carr is outstanding. He’s a patriot. He loves our country, and he’s a tough guy, so we’ll have to see.”

In July 2025, Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show was canceled by CBS due to financial pressure and the talk show’s final episode will be aired in May 2026.