Michael Carrick got off to a winning start as Man Utd head coach and has since seen potential rivals for the job stumble.
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick has enjoyed an excellent first week as Manchester United head coach(Image: )
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It's been a good week to have shares in Michael Carrick. The 44-year-old showed off his coaching credentials by steering Manchester United to their best performance of the season on the back of just three training sessions, and then watched on as some of his rivals for the job suffered more dispiriting weeks.
Carrick will never be bold or brash enough to offer such sentiments in public and he isn't one to get carried away, rightly so on the back of one victory, but there is no doubt this week has enhanced his reputation.
That 2-0 victory against Manchester City at Old Trafford was an extremely impressive performance, though it has been put into context further by City's defeat in Norway on Tuesday night, with Pep Guardiola's side suddenly looking out of sorts.
But United's dominance and their front-foot, attacking football reflected well on Carrick and the coaching staff he put together at short notice. Likewise, the changes he has made to training plans at Carrington and around matchdays have gone down well with players.
All those who spoke publicly after Saturday's win praised the impact the former United midfielder had in a short period of time, and he clearly has the squad's support after a draining period under Ruben Amorim. It's early days, but Carrick has put himself in the conversation to see his contract extended beyond the end of this season.
United insist the process to appoint a head coach beyond the end of this season will be "thorough", and for all that Carrick has done himself no harm this week, there won't be a rush to judge inside Old Trafford. It is still early days.
There will be no desire to rule anybody out already, either, but for two potential candidates who both have their supporters at United, it has been a much more difficult week.
Oliver Glasner let rip at his Crystal Palace bosses at the weekend and is now facing up to another difficult inquisition later this week, with Jean-Philippe Mateta keen to join the Selhurst Park exodus. Even if Glasner limps on until the end of the season, it looks like it will be a difficult few months. Palace are already 10 games without a win, and although the Austrian is losing his best players, this is now a huge test of his skills as a man manager and a unifying force.
You can be sure people at United will be watching closely. Glasner's coaching credentials aren't really in doubt and his work at mid-ranking teams such as Eintracht Frankfurt and Palace has probably earned him a shot at the elite, but the challenges he will face for the rest of this season will be a test of character.
Another combustible head coach who suffered a tough week was Roberto De Zerbi. His Marseille side hosted Liverpool in the Champions League and what should have been an opportunity to remind Premier League audiences of his abilities as a coach turned into a difficult evening, with the visitors running out emphatic winners.
De Zerbi was asked about links to the United job after the game and again sought to play them down, insisting he was happy at Marseille and didn't know what would happen in the future. His time might come again, but Wednesday night was a chance to put his name back in lights, and it is one that slipped by.
Carrick had no such trouble back in Manchester.
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