Gary Neville has given a fresh Manchester United managerial verdict on Michael Carrick's chances of staying at Old Trafford on a permanent basis after his interim role
Gary Neville reckons Manchester United must pursue another manager while paying attention to Michael Carrick's impressive spell as interim head coach. United remain unbeaten in the Premier League since Carrick took charge until the end of the season.
During that period they've defeated Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs and Fulham before sharing the points with West Ham United in their most recent outing. United appear to have turned a corner under the former Boro manager, with many demanding he be handed the role permanently.
Neville believes United need to target 'the best class of manager available' but didn't dismiss appointing his former team-mate, should the side secure Champions League qualification. Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of the clash with Everton on Monday, Neville said: "Manchester United have to pursue another manager right now around the fact of you don't know how the results are going to go.
"But little things like Thomas Tuchel re-signing with England does start to take away the options for Manchester United and they don't harm Michael's chances of getting the job. If he gets United into the Champions League there will be a lot of fever around that he should be appointed.
"I'm not against him being appointed, I love him to bits. But I think Manchester United should go for the best class of manager available.
"They've had young and inexperienced managers in the last two picks. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come in before as an ex-player and that didn't work in the end. So I feel removing as much risk as possible is the right option."
Neville disclosed that he'd communicated with the club a few weeks ago to express his views and what he believes is best for United's future. Earlier this month, he told Sky Sports: "I made my position clear a few weeks ago and what I'm not going to do is repeat it every week, but what I did, I actually spoke to the club, because ultimately the club get asked all the time from journalists and broadcasters, what's the position of the club.
"It's a very difficult situation, you've got a massive movement now with what's happened towards giving Carrick the job, saying that really he should be considered. That's only going to build the more that he wins and the more that he gets closer to Champions League football.
"I asked the club what is the official position of the football club in terms of what you're saying publicly to everybody else. I have to say I thought their answer was pretty good. They said they've actually begun the process now, starting to look for another manager, which I thought right.
"That's good to hear because you need to plan for everything. They've started the process of speaking to and looking at other managers, building all the sorts of data and analysing who should be the next manager of the football club.
"But what they've said is they're not going to be bounced into - irrespective of wins or draws or losses on the pitch in this next couple of months - making an appointment. They're going to wait until towards the end of the season.
"If Michael then at that point makes himself available for the job, and I did actually say a couple of weeks ago, I wondered whether Michael actually would say no.
"He is that type of guy Michael, he's someone who would always work in the best interest of the football club. He may do that, or he might say no, I feel comfortable enough and I've built such a good relationship with the players, his coaching staff to put his name in the hat."