{"id":5906,"date":"2026-04-07T11:29:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=5906"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:29:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:29:34","slug":"nicky-butt-predicts-who-man-utd-will-appoint-as-manager-rules-out-three-candidates-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=5906","title":{"rendered":"Nicky Butt predicts who Man Utd will appoint as manager – rules out three candidates | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\"Salford\t<\/div>
Michael Carrick would be the \u2018easy choice\u2019 to manage Manchester United permanently, says Nicky Butt (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nicky Butt says he expects Michael Carrick to get the full-time job at Manchester United as no other candidates are \u2018jumping out\u2019 and he is the \u2018easy choice\u2019.<\/p>\n

Carrick was brought in as caretaker manager after Ruben Amorim\u2019s dismissal at the beginning of January, with Darren Fletcher briefly taking over the reins for two matches prior to his arrival.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Carrick\u2019s first significant setback came as his side were defeated by a ten-man Newcastle team at St James\u2019 Park, but they bounced back at home to Aston Villa before drawing at Bournemouth before the international break.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

United\u2019s hierarchy are yet to provide any assurances either way over Carrick\u2019s future, though, and speculation over potential contenders is likely to rumble on until they do so. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Bournemouth\t<\/div>
The Red Devils have risen to third in the table under Carrick (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\"Manchester\t<\/div>
Carrick\u2019s men appear in a strong position for Champions League qualification (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u2018The thing with the Michael scenario is that it\u2019s all well and good people saying that he\u2019s not quite ready for the job, and I get that side of the argument as well,\u2019 the ex-United and England midfielder said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.<\/p>\n

\u2018But for me, if you\u2019re asking me the question, if you don\u2019t give it to Michael then who are you giving it to? There\u2019s nobody I can think of that is jumping out, going: that\u2019s the man.<\/p>\n

\u2018So that\u2019s why I think Michael will get it. He\u2019s doing a good job, he knows the football club.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"FBL-FRIENDLY-BRA-FRA\"\t<\/div>
Butt doubts Ancelotti would return to England to manage United (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Even more importantly, I think the people above him will like working with Michael, he\u2019s not going to cause them too much of a headache, he\u2019s not going to start being a Jose Mourinho. He\u2019s the easy choice.<\/p>\n

\u2018Also, their get out if was to go wrong\u2026 I don\u2019t know anyone who is jumping out and they\u2019re speaking to.<\/p>\n

\u2018Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel is signed [to England], I don\u2019t think Carlo Ancelotti would come, I really don\u2019t think we would come. So there\u2019s nobody there in my eyes going, \u201cWell you\u2019ve got to take him!\u201d\u2026 it\u2019s not like a Jose Mourinho or a Jurgen Klopp has become available.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"FBL-ENG-FACUP-MAN\t<\/div>
Scholes and Butt discussed United\u2019s options on The Good, The Bad & The Football (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Butt\u2019s former team-mate and podcast colleague, Paul Scholes, came under fire after calling Carrick\u2019s United \u2018s***\u2019 last month, despite the club\u2019s change in fortunes results since he took charge. <\/p>\n

And while Scholes now agrees that Carrick is perhaps the best option available to United, he thinks the \u2018big question\u2019 will come if the side experience another dip next season.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think he\u2019s put himself in a much better position,\u2019 Scholes explained.<\/p>\n

\u2018Now look, I\u2019m not going to say it\u2019s quite easy to win games because it isn\u2019t, of course everyone wants to beat Manchester United. <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Manchester\t<\/div>
United\u2019s squad are currently at an intensive training camp in the Republic of Ireland (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018But it\u2019s easier now to win games now from what he\u2019s come into about a man [Ruben Amorim] who didn\u2019t do great, round pegs, round holes, all that kind of stuff.<\/p>\n

\u2018The 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\u2019s when it becomes a proper job.<\/p>\n

\u2018We wont know if Michael is the right choice for\u2026 people say two or three years but I think you\u2019ll probably know like next November.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Manchester\t<\/div>
Fernandes and Co return to action against Leeds next Monday (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But according to Scholes, Carrick is beginning to look the part and has what it takes to \u2018handle\u2019 the situation should results begin to spiral down the line.<\/p>\n

He added: \u2018Sometimes 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. <\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s unflappable now because everything\u2019s going alright\u2026 I\u2019m saying let\u2019s see next November, if they\u2019ve lost two or three games, all of a sudden they\u2019re seventh, eighth in the league, maybe lose a Champions League game, that\u2019s when the big test will be.<\/p>\n

\u2018Look, I think Michael can handle it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Bournemouth\t<\/div>
Carrick\u2019s side dropped points at Bournemouth before the international break (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carrick has been keen to block out the noise over his future when facing the media, insisting he remains \u2018pretty calm\u2019 about the situation.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m in this position at the moment, doing the best I can, and I\u2019m loving it, obviously,\u2019 he told reporters following United\u2019s 3-1 defeat of Aston Villa last month.<\/p>\n

\u2018But whatever\u2019s going to happen is going happen. It\u2019s all pretty calm.<\/p>\n

\u2018We can definitely enjoy the win and look forward to Friday night. But other than that, that\u2019s all I\u2019m thinking about really.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Should Man Utd appoint Carrick on a permanent basis?<\/h3>\n
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Sign up to In The Mixer, your guide to the week in football. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk \u2013 sign up, it\u2019s an open goal.<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

United have a week remaining before they return to action at home to bitter rivals Leeds in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

The Red Devils haven\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Diogo Dalot\u00a0and Tom Heaton miss out due to illness, while Matthijs\u00a0de Ligt is still yet to make his comeback following a back injury he sustained in November.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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