Man Utd will appoint a permanent manager this summer after Michael Carrick took interim charge last weekplaceholder image
Man Utd will appoint a permanent manager this summer after Michael Carrick took interim charge last week | Getty Images
Man Utd will appoint a permanent manager this summer after Michael Carrick took interim charge last week
The Red Devils beat their rivals 2-0 at Old Trafford but it was a scoreline that could have been so much worse for Pep Guardiola’s side.
On paper, it could not have been a tougher start for Carrick with a clash against City followed by an away trip to Premier League leaders Arsenal this weekend.
The former Middlesbrough manager will take charge of United until the end of the season with a plan to then appoint a permanent manager.
According to Sky Sports Germany, United have enquired about the availability of Borussia Dortmund boss Niko Kovac, with the ex-Hertha Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen boss keen to manager in England at some point in his career.
Most of his managerial jobs have been in Germany with the Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and now Dortmund. He has also managed Monaco and the Croatian national team.
However, according to The Mirror, England manager Thomas Tuchel and Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi remain the two names who top the shortlist at Old Trafford.
Tuchel is out of contract with the Three Lions after the World Cup this summer while De Zerbi has experience in the Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion and has been linked with the United job in the past.
Several names are under consideration as United take their time with their decision.
Speaking ahead of the win over City, Carrick was asked what success would look like during his interim spell in charge.
He said: “Yeah, I think improvement. I think certainly improvement and helping improve individuals. I think a big part of what I really enjoy is improving individuals and, in the end, I think if you improve the individuals, we create a better team.
“So, certainly working with the players and improving them with that, I think. And, listen, results, that's what it is. There's an element of performance, there's an element of improvement, and there's an element of doing what it takes to win in certain ways, in certain occasions. So, certainly, the higher up the league we finish, we want to keep pushing and finishing as high up as we possibly can, and we'll see where that takes us.”
After the victory which Gary Neville described as one of the best performances from United in years, Carrick said: "It was a very special day but I'm not getting carried away. It's one game and it's really important we don't get carried away.
“It needs to be a regular feeling, that level of performance needs to be consistently what we're getting. It's a fantastic result and there is an element of soaking it up and enjoying it but it's definitely not enough and never enough. If you look at the result, we had three days to work on it and we've got to keep building on that."
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