I love the principle behind Michael Carrick staying at Man Utd, but have serious concerns

Michael Carrick is set to stay on as Manchester United head coach. For now.

When Michael Carrick left the pitch after Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth, it appeared he was heading for the sack. He could offer no assurances over his own future.

Monday came and went without a decision, and BBC Sport has now reported that Carrick is set to stay on as head coach for United’s next match against Chelsea.

I love the principle behind sticking with the manager and giving him time to turn the situation around.

Carrick is a manager who United committed to back in May, appointing him as permanent manager. To fire him three months into the new season would represent a dramatic U-turn.

At some stage, Manchester United need to back a manager, and stick to it. There can be no easy excuses or quick fixes for this group of players, who have become conditioned to the hire-and-fire cycle, requiring new impetus from a new head coach to motivate them.

Despite admiring the principle behind sticking by the manager, I have serious concerns about whether this will work…

United still not setting long-term path

Manchester United are not going all-in on Michael Carrick, yet. The BBC report specifically states that he will be given the Chelsea fixture to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Well, what if he doesn’t?

Will United sack Carrick, and appoint a new boss for the games against Roma or Aston Villa? Or will he get them too, with a change coming in the international break?

There is no clarity from United. So while this decision to back Carrick seems positive, he may just be being given a stay of execution.

Losing faith in Carrick’s ability to motivate

It is great to back the manager, but what happens when you back the wrong manager?

Michael Carrick is club legend, and he earned the right to be appointed as head coach with the results he led the team to last season.

However, Carrick appears to have lost the faith of his players. It’s not only the fallout with Bruno Fernandes, whose status this weekend remains uncertain.

The players on the pitch are not responding to his methods. United are low in confidence and make simple, game-costing errors.

They are not working hard enough, they are switching off at key moments in games, and most importantly, they are not getting results.

United are 16th in the Premier League, and out of the top 24 in the Champions League. Sticking by Carrick risks delaying the inevitable and making his successor’s task worse.

If he can turn the situation around, then this will be an inspired decision from Ineos. However, I have serious doubts whether he is capable of doing so. Nothing we have seen recently suggests that he can.