Nicky Butt predicts who Man Utd will appoint as manager – rules out three candidates | Football

Nicky Butt says he expects Michael Carrick to get the full-time job at Manchester United as no other candidates are ‘jumping out’ and he is the ‘easy choice’.

Carrick was brought in as caretaker manager after Ruben Amorim’s dismissal at the beginning of January, with Darren Fletcher briefly taking over the reins for two matches prior to his arrival.

The Red Devils had been languishing down in sixth in the Premier League table when Carrick picked up the pieces, accumulating just one win in their previous seven games in all competitions.

But Carrick made an immediate and remarkable impact inside the Old Trafford pressure cooker, steering the club to back-to-back victories over Manchester City and Arsenal to kick off a seven-match unbeaten run.

Carrick’s first significant setback came as his side were defeated by a ten-man Newcastle team at St James’ Park, but they bounced back at home to Aston Villa before drawing at Bournemouth before the international break.

It means United now sit third in the table, seemingly well positioned to secure Champions League qualification for the first time since their group-stage exit in 2023.

United’s hierarchy are yet to provide any assurances either way over Carrick’s future, though, and speculation over potential contenders is likely to rumble on until they do so.

However, Butt feels the apparent lack of any realistic elite-level managers puts Carrick in pole position for the permanent gig at the Theatre of Dreams as it stands.

‘The thing with the Michael scenario is that it’s all well and good people saying that he’s not quite ready for the job, and I get that side of the argument as well,’ the ex-United and England midfielder said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

‘But for me, if you’re asking me the question, if you don’t give it to Michael then who are you giving it to? There’s nobody I can think of that is jumping out, going: that’s the man.

‘So that’s why I think Michael will get it. He’s doing a good job, he knows the football club.

‘Even more importantly, I think the people above him will like working with Michael, he’s not going to cause them too much of a headache, he’s not going to start being a Jose Mourinho. He’s the easy choice.

‘Also, their get out if was to go wrong… I don’t know anyone who is jumping out and they’re speaking to.

‘Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel is signed [to England], I don’t think Carlo Ancelotti would come, I really don’t think we would come. So there’s nobody there in my eyes going, “Well you’ve got to take him!”… it’s not like a Jose Mourinho or a Jurgen Klopp has become available.’

Butt’s former team-mate and podcast colleague, Paul Scholes, came under fire after calling Carrick’s United ‘s***’ last month, despite the club’s change in fortunes results since he took charge.

And while Scholes now agrees that Carrick is perhaps the best option available to United, he thinks the ‘big question’ will come if the side experience another dip next season.

‘I think he’s put himself in a much better position,’ Scholes explained.

‘Now look, I’m not going to say it’s quite easy to win games because it isn’t, of course everyone wants to beat Manchester United.

‘But it’s easier now to win games now from what he’s come into about a man [Ruben Amorim] who didn’t do great, round pegs, round holes, all that kind of stuff.

‘The big question will be the start of next season, the first ten or 15 games of next year, when you have to win games, you have to put yourself in a position: Champions League, the league, that’s when it becomes a proper job.

‘We wont know if Michael is the right choice for… people say two or three years but I think you’ll probably know like next November.’

But according to Scholes, Carrick is beginning to look the part and has what it takes to ‘handle’ the situation should results begin to spiral down the line.

He added: ‘Sometimes managers just look right and just looking at Michael, the way he handles himself, not so much the way he dresses, but he just looks right.

‘He’s unflappable now because everything’s going alright… I’m saying let’s see next November, if they’ve lost two or three games, all of a sudden they’re seventh, eighth in the league, maybe lose a Champions League game, that’s when the big test will be.

‘Look, I think Michael can handle it.’

Carrick has been keen to block out the noise over his future when facing the media, insisting he remains ‘pretty calm’ about the situation.

‘I’m in this position at the moment, doing the best I can, and I’m loving it, obviously,’ he told reporters following United’s 3-1 defeat of Aston Villa last month.

‘But whatever’s going to happen is going happen. It’s all pretty calm.

‘We can definitely enjoy the win and look forward to Friday night. But other than that, that’s all I’m thinking about really.’

United have a week remaining before they return to action at home to bitter rivals Leeds in the Premier League.

The Red Devils haven’t played since dropping points in a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth on March 2020 and will spend the coming days putting in the hard yards at an intensive training camp in Dublin.

Carrick has named a 25-man party for the trip to the Republic of Ireland, with Lisandro Martinez and Patrick Dorgu both returning to the fold after injury layoffs.

Diogo Dalot and Tom Heaton miss out due to illness, while Matthijs de Ligt is still yet to make his comeback following a back injury he sustained in November.

After facing Leeds, Champions League-chasing United do battle with with Chelsea, Brentford, Liverpool, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest, before travelling to Brighton on the final day of the season.

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