Despite his personal well-wishes, Keane was keen to differentiate between the short-term impact of a caretaker manager and the gruelling demands of a permanent appointment. The former United skipper warned that while Carrick has stabilised the ship, leading the club to a Premier League title requires a different skillset entirely.
"As a caretaker manager, it's a different animal to being manager of United trying to win league titles over the next two, three, four, five years, whatever it might be," Keane explained.
He maintained his belief that, objectively, the club could aim higher in their search for a long-term successor. "I think you can get a better manager than Carrick, absolutely. But I think he's doing a good job, perfect timing for him."
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