‘Is he too soft?’ – United legend voices concern about Carrick remaining in charge next season

Iconic Premier League midfielder and former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has revealed his primary concern should the Red Devils hand caretaker head coach Michael Carrick the job on a full-time basis. Having just secured a return to the Champions League with the recent 3-2 victory over fierce rivals Liverpool, fans and ex-players have begun to throw their support behind Carrick, with many believing the future at Old Trafford will be bright with the former England international at the helm. United need only four points from their remaining three Premier League games to guarantee a third-place finish, which would be their highest finish since 2023. Does Carrick deserve the job? Few could have envisioned just how drastically Carrick and his backroom staff would transform the fortunes of this team. When he first took on the role in January, United were in the midst of poor form, struggling to even build up a series of positive results. After beginning his reign with stand-out victories over both Manchester City and Arsenal, Carrick has overseen his United side take 32 points from just 14 games, the most of any team in that time. Additionally, Carrick has overseen a significant upturn in player form. No player has benefited more from the arrival of United’s former midfielder than Kobbie Mainoo, who celebrated his new long-term contract by producing a magnificent display against Liverpool in which he scored the winning goal. Bruno Fernandes, whose potentially record-breaking season has seen him climb up the list of United’s all-time assist leaders, has thrived since Carrick moved him further up the pitch, returning him to a position where he is best suited to impact the game. Do bigger challenges lie ahead? Former United captain Roy Keane is yet to be convinced by Carrick’s credentials, however, and has voiced his concerns about the challenges that will lie ahead next season should the Englishman land the job on a full-time basis. Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Keane said: “I can see where they’re coming from. Absolutely. But I’m not going to sit down and think Carrick’s going to get Man United competing in the top next two or three years. I don’t see it.” “But I’d love to be proven wrong. Yeah, give him a chance to become a great coach at Man United. But he’s been at United a long time, though, right? There must have an idea. Again, he’s been with Mourinho. He’s been with Ole. He’s not managed. They must have an idea if people in the building go, no, he’s got something about him.” “Would it be his calmness? I think that’s good sometimes. Sometimes we want a manager with emotion. We’ve seen Simeone last night, that’s his kind of trade. I praised Eddie Howe before for his calmness.” “More maybe off-the-field stuff, working with people above you. Because that’s the biggest challenge of any manager, working with people above you. Has Carrick got that to work with Wilcox and all this? Is he too soft? Recruitment, will he be in charge of all of that? Next year, being in the Champions League. That becomes a challenge.” Though Keane undoubtedly raises some good points, United’s recent performances have given fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the future. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Mike Walsh Mike Walsh is an experienced freelance journalist who has written about a variety of topics over multiple years. He is very happy to finally be writing about the Red Devils, especially now that his favourite player, Michael Carrick, is in charge of the team.