Man Utd uncertainty drags on with Michael Carrick expected to take training

Manchester United have yet to clarify their stance on Michael Carrick as head coach after losing 3-0 to Bournemouth, with a growing feeling that his days at Old Trafford are numbered.

Communication was widely expected from Manchester United on Monday regarding Michael Carrick’s job. As of now, nothing has been announced following meetings between executives that took place throughout the day.

United’s chief executive Omar Berrada and football director Jason Wilcox were spotted arriving at Carrington early in the morning. Carrick arrived shortly before 2pm to watch the under-21s take on Hull City in a behind-closed-doors friendly.

Carrick and Wilcox were seen leaving Carrington before 6pm, though it remains to be seen whether the 45-year-old will be in charge of the team against Chelsea on Sunday.

What Laurie Whitwell is hearing about Michael Carrick tonight

The popular United podcast Talk of the Devils went live on Monday at 8pm. Ian Irving (host) was joined by Laurie Whitwell, Andy Mitten and Cerys Jones to reflect on another miserable afternoon at Old Trafford with Carrick on the brink of the sack.

Carrick remains United head coach, for today at least, but nobody knows for how long. Mitten explained that there are multiple figures on the board who are involved in making a decision on the head coach’s future.

“There’s a lot of people part of this decision due to Manchester United’s ownership structure,” Mitten said.

“It’s not just one person who needs to say ‘enough, we’re changing managers,’ and there has to be consultation between different groups, including the Glazers in America, who are in a different time zone. They don’t want to rush into any decision.

“From Michael Carrick’s perspective, it’s business as usual, even though it’s not. He was doing what he’s going to do [watch U21S] on Monday, and I do think he’s a bit gutted. He greatly appreciates the support, but he’s gutted about what’s happened to Manchester United.”

Perhaps the biggest update from the live podcast came from Whitwell, who revealed what he is hearing regarding training tomorrow. Unless something changes between now and then, Carrick will take the training session as normal, despite being gutted at the state of the club right now due to his emotional attachment.

“I would perhaps anticipate him taking training tomorrow at Carrington,” Whitwell said. “That’s the mood I’m getting. It’s a moving situation, obviously; these things can change.”

Carrick has said in the past that he will do whatever he can to help the club. If that means taking training tomorrow, I’m not surprised that he is willing to do that, even though he is on the brink of losing his dream job.

It’s a miserable time for the club, and the fans showed at Old Trafford on Sunday that they don’t believe Carrick is the root of the problems. They correctly pinned that on the ownership.

When discussing the possibility of Eddie Howe becoming Carrick’s successor, Whitwell added: “I think it’s still the case and that’s for some people at the club, Eddie Howe has the most compelling case with getting Bournemouth promoted and keeping them in the Premier League and his time at Newcastle, getting them in the Champions League and showing some muscle in that competition.

“I know that won’t enamour people, and I can understand that. He won’t be a free agent, from what I understand, even though he’s not at Newcastle anymore. In terms of his contract, because it was the case of him stepping away from Newcastle, they protect themselves by having compensation if he gets a job, theoretically in the next twelve months. It’s certainly the case that United would have to pay, I’m not sure exactly how much, but it’s in the region of a few million, and I think that’s a consideration amongst all of this.”