Gary Neville reveals when Man Utd will sack Michael Carrick on one condition – ‘it has to change’
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has sent a huge sack warning to head coach Michael Carrick, who could be axed in January.
Man Utd produced a far better performance than previously in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Leeds United, but Carrick remains the firm favourite to be the first Premier League manager sacked this season.
The Red Devils are currently 13th in the Premier League after only winning one of their first seven games, while they have exited the Carabao Cup and have only won two of their 10 matches in all competitions.
Therefore, Carrick faces a potentially decisive run of matches in the coming weeks to save himself from the sack, and Neville has argued that he could be sacked in January on one condition, with “par” for Man Utd this season set.
Neville told Sky Sports: “I would say fourth would be a birdie, fifth would be par, and sixth would be a bogey. But they can’t finish outside the top five, because then you’re missing out on Champions League and it becomes a vicious circle.
“Then you can’t get those players because they want to play in the Champions League and you can’t get the money from it, and you’ve lost the £60m-£70m and you’re in the Europa League on Thursday nights.
“Fifth is a must for Michael Carrick to continue to grow and Manchester United continue to grow with investment.
“If they’re 13th in January, he’s got a problem because then you are what you are. Whereas I think it’s still early enough, seven points from seven games, to say, ‘okay, still early in the season’. You can’t say that after 15 games.
“It has to change in the next few weeks: Bournemouth is really important and Chelsea away. And how he manages the games in between that.
“You’ve got to say fifth. You know that anything less than fifth is going to be a disappointment and a dropping standard from the start of the season where everybody expected them to finish.
“And at the moment, they’re well short of that because you look at Brighton, Liverpool, Aston Villa – they look like they’re picking up a little bit. It’s difficult.”
Gary Neville names “absolutely critical” player for Man Utd
For Man Utd to meet these expectations, Neville has also explained why he thinks £70m summer signing Carlos Baleba is going to be “absolutely critical”.
Neville continued: “I know he had a difficult season last year at Brighton, but you watch him in his first couple of games or so for United, and he’s got something. He’s got a bit of strength about him, he’s got a presence.
“Him staying fit is going to be absolutely critical. I can understand why Michael Carrick took him off with 20 minutes to go [at Leeds], because he’s played [nearly] three games in a week.
“Maybe he doesn’t play him against Como on Wednesday. We’re not throwing the Champions League away, but Manchester United have to beat Bournemouth next weekend.
“I just wonder whether that Santos-Baleba partnership is going to stay there for a bit, and let a couple of [the attacking players] float around in front, and be a lot more solid, make sure we’re not giving as much space away.
“I’m sick of Manchester United’s team being easy to play against, and Michael Carrick will be sick of it.”
