Carrick celebrates the win over City(Image: )
Manchester United are smiling again following a wonderful weekend. Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe left Old Trafford glowing, having finally experienced what it's like to watch [a good United side win a game that counts](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester-united-player-ratings-vs-33251659). The Glazers were nowhere to be seen, of course.
The fellow owners had been in Manchester earlier in the week to meet Ratcliffe and new interim manager Michael Carrick. But Old Trafford remains a no-go zone for the Floridian billionaires.
At least Ratcliffe jetted back to Monaco thinking he had hit the jackpot. That he'd finally found a manager (at the third time of asking in just 24 months) who can turn back the clock, to a time when United lit up the game with fast and furious football opponents couldn't handle.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson himself was beaming. But there has to be a huge note of caution. Ratcliffe has to put his foot on the ball, instead of attempting a bold strike which could still turn out to be an own goal.
Because one thumping win doesn't turn Carrick into some sort of managerial genius. Carrick almost said so himself. "We are not getting carried away massively," he said, after United had beaten Manchester City so convincingly the scoreline should have been 5-0 instead of 2-0.
"That is the challenge now - it needs to be a version of normal, these are the levels of standard we need to live up to." The signs look promising.
Because in the space of three training sessions, Carrick has somehow managed a startling improvement in attitude, work rate, cohesion and performance from his side.
But it's one game. The joke in the press room at half-time was that Carrick spent the interval putting pen to paper on a new long-term deal. Come the final whistle, some people thought he could walk on water. Ratcliffe should not be one of them.
Even if United go to Arsenal next weekend and get another win, it proves little. This is a time for patience and pragmatism. To wait until the end of the season before assessing the job Carrick has done.
The last place Ratcliffe wants to find himself in is having handed Carrick a permanent contract, only to have to sack him come November if it has all turned sour.
This would result in United doling out more compensation to another bloke who turned out to be the wrong choice. Something Ratcliffe has become quite good at.
Give Carrick five months to see if he can prove himself, then make a decision. Because the next choice of manager is one of the biggest decisions the club will ever have to make.