Michael Carrick's position at Manchester United remains under scrutiny following a defeat to Chelsea that has left the club teetering on the edge of the relegation zone
Omar Berrada, chief executive officer of Manchester United, and Jason Wilcox, director of football at Manchester United, watched on at Stamford Bridge
Omar Berrada, chief executive officer of Manchester United, and Jason Wilcox, director of football at Manchester United, watched on at Stamford Bridge(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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Manchester United's hierarchy reportedly agreed in private to try to reach the November international break before pulling the trigger on sacking Michael Carrick if required. Club chiefs held crisis talks following defeat to Bournemouth and will be forced to consider their position once again after a ninth match without a win.
United fell to a 2-0 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, failing to capitalise on a decent start and imploding with some poor defending to allow Morgan Rogers to open the scoring before Lisandro Martinez picked up a senseless red card.
Carrick's team sit outside of the relegation zone on goal difference, having not been in the bottom three for 40 years. The last time was in November 1986, prompting the arrival of Alex Ferguson, who went on to lead the club to an unprecedented period of success.
Matches against Roma and Aston Villa are up next for United, and Carrick is expecting to be in charge at least for their next match. It is likely that the prospect of defeat to Chelsea came up in discussions when deciding to keep Carrick in place earlier in the week.
According to The Athletic, United bosses will take stock of the situation following the next two matches and are considering their options over who could land in the dugout next. Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann remain available, though Juventus are being linked to a move for the latter.
Chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox were in attendance at Stamford Bridge and will advise on any possible successor to Carrick. Alongside the likes of Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers, Wilcox was the target of chanting in the away end on Saturday.
Micaehl Carrick at Stamford Bridge
Manchester United's English head coach Michael Carrick looks on
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For Carrick's part, he is expecting to remain in charge long enough to face Roma in the Champions League. Asked by TNT Sports if he would still be in place for the next game, Carrick replied: "Yes".
“Got to keep moving forward and winning games, simple as that,” he added following the Chelsea defeat. “There’s no words that I’m going to explain to you now that makes it any different; it’s not going to change it.
“You can move up the league quite quickly if you win football matches.”
United are four points away from the top half, and nine points off the top four, while Arsenal could extend their lead over them at the top of the table to 17 points with a win over Liverpool.
Speaking before the match against Chelsea, Carrick refused to be drawn on whether United's hierarchy should provide more communication with fans over the club's direction.
"If there's one thing I care about from outside these walls it's what the supporters are thinking and how they are feeling. That's all that matters to me because we're all in this together," Carrick said.
"We're all hungry and desperate. We understand there will be things that are talked about - I'm not interested in that, I'm just focusing on making us better."