Do Manchester United need a super coach?

Given the choice, several Manchester United players would vote to turn Michael Carrick’s interim status into a permanent one.

They like his style of management, enjoy his training sessions, and feel the coaching setup, led by former England assistant Steve Holland, has a good balance. But does winning the favour of the squad mean Carrick will, or should, get the job?

To some who know Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Carrick’s personality does not align with what the British billionaire would typically go for. Ratcliffe, these people feel, is drawn to “alpha” characters, hence his initial fondness for Ruben Amorim, a man who fought fire with fire.

Carrick is cooler in the hot seat. He has quiet authority, rather than the kind of overt assertiveness Ratcliffe has shown in his own media engagements, for better or worse.

There is also the aspect that Carrick came in on a temporary basis, selected in no small part due to his United heritage, which granted the hierarchy breathing space amid a fanbase angry at the details of Amorim’s departure. If those strained circumstances then, by chance, result in a long-term appointment, that would run counter to the program for forward-planning the INEOS regime entered Old Trafford with.

There are questions, too, about how Carrick and his staff might handle the rigours of a European campaign alongside a Premier League season, with United on course to return to the Champions League as it stands.

Still, several industry insiders with access to the club believe United should go with Carrick due to the major uplift in position that has come since his arrival. They view the wins over Manchester City and Arsenal as evidence of his ability to smartly set United up against the country’s best, and by sticking with him, executives would be giving themselves, in effect, two bites of the cherry. If they appoint somebody else and it starts badly, going back to Carrick is not an option.

There is, of course, the rather glaring concern, expressed by people connected to the club, that those making the choice have, so far, a chequered record. Keeping Erik ten Hag, triggering his extra year, only to sack him four months later, was the first blot, followed by the bold selection of Amorim, together with his wing-back system. Chief executive Omar Berrada was instrumental in the appointment of Amorim, and while director of football Jason Wilcox raised questions on the formation, he ultimately got on board.

Sticking with Amorim through unprecedentedly bad results, only to dismiss him when he resisted their lobbying to shift to a back four, goes down as a deeply messy episode.

Picking a manager or head coach who can get the best out of the current squad is accepted at Old Trafford as being a crucial aspect this time round. Carrick has certainly done that, and bringing him and his staff in can be regarded as a plus in the column for United’s decision-makers.

Now, they insist they will not rush the decision on his future. They want to wait until the end of the season, see where United finish, sense the mood, and study the final data. They have done background checks to get a good sense of the market, but have not yet pulled the trigger on the interview process.

Whether that leaves them behind the curve on transfers is open to debate. New signings want to know who they will be playing for, but senior officials at United think that is overstated and recruitment should be done for the club rather than the individual in the dugout.

United are fully committed to qualifying for the Champions League and insist there is no complacency on achieving that aim despite the current picture, with a gap of seven points to sixth-placed Chelsea, who they play on Saturday. They do not want to potentially jeopardise Carrick’s work now by starting a manager process in earnest. Carrick, meanwhile, is not agitating for clarity either.

Results and performances over these closing weeks will help determine the outcome, and sources say finance is a factor, too. After spending £31million on dismissing Ten Hag and hiring and firing Amorim, Ratcliffe does not want to splash more cash on compensation.

So who else could United target? Luis Enrique stands out as a Champions League winner with two sides, producing exhilarating football. He is admired by people in United’s hierarchy. But he is expected to extend his contract at Paris Saint-Germain this summer to 2030. His current terms run out in 2027.

Thomas Tuchel and Carlo Ancelotti are also seen as having the big personalities and pedigrees to handle United. But Tuchel has signed a new contract to 2028 with England, where he enjoys a good relationship with Dan Ashworth, the FA’s chief football officer, who was dismissed as United’s sporting director in December 2024. In February, The Athletic reported Ancelotti is set to sign an extended deal with Brazil to 2030.

Julian Nagelsmann, the Germany head coach, is another who will be at the World Cup this summer.

United’s director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, who was important in the Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens signings, is friends with Nagelsmann and would doubtless speak highly of his qualities. The pair worked together at RB Leipzig before Nagelsmann managed Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title.

But the World Cup final is after United’s first pre-season game, which complicates things. United would be cautious about again selecting a manager who has not worked in the Premier League before.

Andoni Iraola has shown he can handle England’s top flight, but the jump from Bournemouth to United is massive. Crystal Palace are in for Iraola as a replacement for Oliver Glasner.

Unai Emery has been proposed to United at different stages in the past, and Sir Alex Ferguson is known to admire his qualities as a manager. So, too, does Txiki Begiristain, Manchester City’s former director of football, who remains in touch with Berrada. But Emery has a level of control at Aston Villa that no appointment would get at Old Trafford.

Ferguson has expressed opinions on the unique pressures and challenges of managing United to people in power. It is, he believes, a significantly different proposition than picking a City manager.

When initially looking to replace Ten Hag around the 2024 FA Cup final, those in charge wanted a head coach who had a clear system and could slot into United’s new structure, hence the talks with candidates such as Kieran McKenna. But Tuchel wowed those across the interview table, leading to an offer. Could an unexpected development like that happen again?

Once again, Ratcliffe, who watched United’s loss to Leeds United on Monday from the directors’ box, will make the ultimate call, with the Glazer family, who own the majority of shares, content to let him take the lead.

Steve McClaren, who assisted Ferguson to three Premier League titles and the Champions League, before returning as No 2 to Ten Hag and winning the FA Cup and League Cup, has a unique insight into United and the INEOS leadership. During his time at Carrington, he had several conversations with Sir Dave Brailsford, who was a key figure in the new regime initially, about the plans.

“Eventually they’ll get it right,” McClaren tells The Athletic. “Everything is about people. It’s not about, ‘We’ve got a sporting director there, we’ve got the technical director there, we’ve got a recruitment manager there’. It’s about people being in the right seat on the right bus, heading in the right direction.

“Their next decision will be the most important, because this is make or break for them. This has got to work; otherwise, Jim is ruthless. His standards are so high that he’ll get what he wants. He’s got the money to do it.

“The structure depends on the manager you get, because all managers work differently. Some work great with the sporting director and you do the recruitment. Some don’t — they want to recruit.

“They have got to identify and speak to as many as they want. I would say five. And what Michael’s done is he’s put himself in that five. Now, six months ago, would he be in that five? No. Therefore, he’s earned the right to be in that five. What he has to do, like all of them, is demonstrate what you would do with United.

“Now, Michael is at a great advantage, because he’s got money in the bank, and he has shown what he can do. He has demonstrated he can do the job on the field, in terms of the 90 minutes.

“It’s the biggest thing. Monday to Friday, anyone can build a game model, it’s that 90 minutes. That’s what Fergie was good at. You can have this tactic, that tactic, he managed the game, he could see the game.

“Michael has good staff around, with Steve Holland and people like that.

“It’s only right that they go through the process. ‘Who is available, who is of our calibre, who fits into what we want?’.

“As a candidate, your next interview has to be red hot. What’s your plan? And does it figure into how Jim has his vision?”

McClaren says he can understand why Amorim refused to bend his principles. “They knew he was going to be 3-4-3. Somebody’s got to go, ‘Have we got the players to play 3-4-3?’. He stuck by that. I talk to a few ex-players and they quite like that. They would say, ‘It’s a bit of a weakness if someone turns the other way’. Imagine. Then the players have got you. And if you get beat on that, they’re going to come down on you even more.”

Quinton Fortune, who was at United for three Premier League titles before returning as an academy coach in 2012 and 2019, believes United require a major presence in charge.

“It’s such a big job,” he says. “The boss set the standards so high. You look at the managers who came in after… my goodness. All you need now is Ancelotti coming in, and they’ve had all the top managers.

“You need Ancelotti, that kind of experience, that kind of aura. Walk into a changing room and the players look: Ancelotti.”

Fortune, who is currently Serbia’s assistant coach, adds: “Ancelotti did a press conference a few years ago and I loved the way he mentioned it’s not about tactics. I’m not saying tactics are not important, but he knows the importance of making players feel good. ‘Vinicius, when you get the ball, what do you want to do? OK. Kylian Mbappe, what are you good at? I’m quick, I can score goals. Wow! Luka Modric, what are you doing? I’m great at passing. I’m good at keeping the ball. Just do what you’re blessed to do’.

“Michael has also got great nature, I played against him when he was at West Ham. A player who could do it effortlessly. He needs, obviously, to strengthen the team, that’s the big one.”

Times have changed, but there are still some fundamental pillars. “The boss never coached us,” Fortune says. “It was always Steve McClaren, Carlos Queiroz, Jim Ryan, Rene Meulensteen, Mick Phelan. The boss was managing the team. But then again, with that group, the culture was already set.

“Whatever session you put out, it was very simple. Whatever was put in front of us, we did it 1000 per cent. Like a match situation. When it was a passing drill, you did it properly. It was a rondo, we had fun, but it was done properly. Everything was done to a match situation, that’s the culture he created.”

Chris Smalling played alongside Carrick for two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League. He was coached by him under Jose Mourinho and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who initially arrived as an interim.

Smalling thinks Carrick has handled the progression to manager well. “It is a bit of a mind shift in terms of having that familiarity, but they also have to separate themselves a little, because they’re the boss now. Carras has handled that transition and it’s been great to see the impact he is having.”

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