Manchester United are set to offer Michael Carrick the job on a permanent basis but Rene Meulensteen is not convinced that Red Devils chiefs have gone about the decision the right way
Rene Meulensteen has claimed that Manchester United have taken too long to make a decision over Michael Carrick's future. The former midfielder was appointed on a deal until the end of the season in January.
He has impressed since then, leading the Red Devils to ten wins in 15 games to secure a Champions League spot. That form has led United chiefs to put Carrick right at the front of the queue when it comes to the permanent job and talks are expected to accelerate imminently.
But Sir Alex Ferguson’s former right-hand man, Meulensteen, believes that call should have been made a long time ago to allow planning for next season and beyond to begin. Speaking to BOYLE Sports, he said: “If you are making such an important decision about the future of the club, you should never let the emotions of winning or losing a game influence you.
“By this time, the conversation should have already been held. If I were the CEO or the person responsible for hiring or not hiring Michael Carrick, I would have already spoken with him.
FOLLOW OUR MAN UTD FB PAGE! Latest United news and more on our dedicated Facebook page
“I would have said, ‘Listen, Michael, present me with the plan. How do you think you're going to make Manchester United a title challenger next season, not in two or three years, but next year? What do we need to keep? What do we need to add? And how are you going to go about it?’ Those conversations should have already taken place."
He added: “The one thing that counts for Michael Carrick is that he's played for the club, he knows what it is to be in a successful environment and culture, and he knows what is expected from Manchester United.
“He carries himself well, and the players respond really well. But on the other hand, he hasn't managed Manchester United throughout a Champions League campaign, and he hasn't won any trophies as a manager yet. And that's constantly the debate people will have.
“But the most important thing for the hierarchy of Manchester United, in my opinion, is to listen really carefully to the key players in that squad at this moment in time. Listen to them, listen to how they felt Michael has done over the last period that he took over. I'm sure they will all be very positive because it shows in the results and the performances.
“So, that is the way to go about it. If it goes wrong again, just because of the fact that if you were to lose or not win both of the last games, then suddenly people go, ‘Well, you know…’ It's a bit of a catch-22, but those conversations, in my opinion, should have already been held, and that decision behind the scenes should have already been made.
“That should have been clarified to Michael: ‘Brilliant, well done. We put you in as an interim, but this is where it stops. We're going to go for X, Y, Z.’ Or, ‘Michael, we put you in as an interim, but you've done a fantastic job. You've convinced us that you know where we want to go. We're going to give you another year or two years.’”
Carrick will be aiming to round the season off positively over the coming weeks. The Red Devils take on Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford this weekend ahead of a final day clash with Brighton.