"Mourinho was the best": Gerrard warns Carrick about Aston Villa

A Liverpool legend identifies Manchester United's problem

Steven Gerrard has warned Michael Carrick that he must beat Aston Villa tomorrow, Sunday, or the Manchester United board will take decisive action before the international break.

Carrick eased the pressure with a thrilling 3-2 win over Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, ending a run of nine matches without a win in all competitions. He knows he needs to repeat it against Aston Villa.

According to the Mirror, "Sporting director Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada have made contact with the trio of Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte, but they have not taken a decisive decision regarding Carrick's future."

Speaking to TNT Sports, as quoted by the Mirror, Gerrard said: "Sometimes, a performance against a particular opponent in a certain way can give the board more confidence and more hope."

He continued: "Michael is going through a difficult period, and I think the next match in the league is decisive. I think that if he can secure the win, everyone will consider that this match might be the first step towards improving his performance. But everyone knows how great the impact of a defeat would be in the last match before the international break. If he loses this match after a run of failing to achieve any win in the league, it will be difficult for him."

Gerrard recently took aim at seven Manchester United players, insisting they are not up to the level of the team. He put that down to the club's failure to back Carrick in the market, pointing to a decision to spend 155 million pounds sterling on three midfielders during the summer window without signing the left-back and the striker United so badly needed.

"Many managers have taken turns coaching them over the past five or six years, but they could not change the course of the team," Gerrard added. "I think (Jose) Mourinho was (the best), as he finished second in the league and won the European title, so the task is difficult at the moment, because I don't think the problem lies solely with the manager or the assistant manager."

He stressed: "I think the problem lies with a group of players who have not delivered a consistent performance and have not given the club enough, in addition to there being many administrative problems. I recently mentioned that Manchester United is suffering from many problems, not just a single problem, and I don't think Michael Carrick is the biggest of these problems.

United sit seventeenth in the Premier League, kept out of the relegation zone only by goal difference after collecting just seven points from their first nine matches.