Manchester United’s history can be loosely understood as two titans of football management taking the club to the very top, and other coaches trying their best to do the same.
Away from Sirs Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson the Red Devils have seen managers of all calibres try and largely fail to make a go of it, and increasingly the club has turned to former players to occupy the dugout.
As Michael Carrick goes from strength to strength in his second spell in interim charge, we take a look at every former United player to manage the club – as interim, caretaker or full-time boss.
Lal Hilditch – October 1926-April 1927
The first United player to manage the club balanced both roles at once. Lal Hilditch, a versatile midfielder signed from Altrincham, made over 300 appearances for United between 1914 and 1932.
But when John Chapman was suddenly and mysteriously suspended by the FA, the club turned to Hilditch to fill in as manager. He was in charge for 27 games in a tumultuous 1926-27 season, winning nine before being replaced by former referee Herbert Bamlett.
Wilf McGuinness – August 1969-December 1970
Following a legend is never easy – just ask David Moyes. Wilf McGuinness was the first permanent manager after Sir Matt Busby, taking control following the end of Jimmy Murphy’s caretaker role. The ebullient McGuinness likes to say he managed the club for four seasons – summer, autumn, winter and spring. In reality he stayed in post for an unhappy 18 months or so, managing 88 games before Busby returned for a second spell in 1971.
As a player, McGuinness was a defensive wing-half whose enthusiasm on the whole outweighed his talents – but he was certainly no mug, making 85 appearances for United across a career hampered by injury.
Ryan Giggs – April 2014-June 2014
The club’s second – and currently last – player-manager, club legend Ryan Giggs took the reins after David Moyes was sacked less than a year into his United tenure. The flying Welshman was in charge for four games as caretaker and named himself in the squad only once, bringing himself off the bench at home to Hull City for his last 20 minutes as a United player.
Giggs had long surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton to hold the record for most United appearances, and that cameo was his 963rd for the club. He scored 168 goals during more than two decades at Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – December 2018-November 2021
By far the most prolific name on this list, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains the longest-serving United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson with 168 games across two spells – first as a rampantly successful interim, then as a permanent appointment whose rein ended in literal tears.
As both manager and player (126 goals in 366 games), Solskjaer was immensely popular and a perfect example of someone who ‘gets’ United. The low points of his time in charge for the most part eclipse the highs of his successors, and not for nothing was he firmly in the frame to take over from Ruben Amorim until the end of the season.
Michael Carrick – November 2021-December 2021, January 2026-present
The man currently in interim charge of United has been here before. Carrick stepped in after Solskjaer’s sacking to manage three unbeaten games as caretaker and now, following Amorim’s dismissal, he’s back until the end of the season.
His second spell in charge has got off to a flying start with four wins on the bounce, and while the club are keeping their cards close to their chest about the summer appointment of a permanent manager, Carrick should at least be in the conversation.
Carrick was an understated midfielder and racked up an impressive 464 appearances for the Red Devils, running the middle of the park during a golden era for the club and picking up five Premier League titles in the process.
Ruud van Nistelrooy – October 2024-November 2024
Continuing the theme of former players picking up as caretaker boss after a high-profile sacking, Ruud van Nistelrooy stepped into the breach after Erik ten Hag bit the dust. A lethal finisher as a player, the Dutchman proved similarly effective in the dugout and was unbeaten to the tune of three wins and a draw before Amorim came in to take on the permanent position.
The goal-greedy Van Nistelrooy hit 150 in 219 appearances for United before departing for Real Madrid, and fans were ecstatic to have him back at Old Trafford on the coaching staff with Ten Hag. Such were the club’s struggles in front of goal at the time that calls for Van Nistelrooy to act as player-manager were possibly not entirely tongue-in-cheek.
Darren Fletcher – January 2026
Hustled into the dugout in the immediate aftermath of Amorim’s sacking, Darren Fletcher was catapulted from coaching the under-18s to taking charge of a first team under immense pressure following a topsy-turvy first half of the season. The Scotsman, who played 342 times for United, will prefer to look back on five Premier League titles and one Champions League winner’s medal as evidence of his success at the club, rather than the listless draw and defeat he oversaw before ceding control to Carrick.
Name Appointed End of time in post Time in post Matches W D L Win %age
Lal Hilditch 01/10/1926 01/04/1927 6 months, 1 day 27 9 5 13 33.33%
Wilf McGuinness 09/08/1969 29/12/1970 1 year, 4 months, 20 days 88 32 33 23 36.36%
Ryan Giggs 23/04/2014 30/06/2014 2 months, 7 days 4 2 1 1 50.00%
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 19/12/2018 21/11/2021 2 years, 11 months, 3 days 168 92 35 41 54.76%
Michael Carrick 21/11/2021 03/12/2021 12 days 3 2 1 0 66.67%
Ruud van Nistelrooy 28/10/2024 11/11/2024 14 days 4 3 1 0 75.00%
Darren Fletcher 05/01/2026 13/01/2026 8 days 2 0 1 1 0.00%
Michael Carrick 13/01/2026 - 26 days 4 4 0 0 100.00%
All stats taken from Transfermarkt.
Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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