Michael Carrick’s Manchester United future hangs in the balance after Bournemouth defeat

Michael Carrick’s position as Manchester United manager is under serious threat after his side suffered a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

The result extended United’s winless run to eight matches and prompted former England internationals Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher to call for the club to end Carrick’s tenure immediately.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said Carrick’s prospects of remaining in charge were “incredibly small”.

“It will become incredibly, incredibly difficult for Michael Carrick to continue as Manchester United manager,” he said. “That is the problem the club face. It is painful to say that.”

Carragher was more direct, urging the club’s hierarchy to dismiss Carrick that night.

“Michael Carrick should be relieved of his duties tonight, not only for the good of Manchester United but also for the good of Michael Carrick himself,” said the former Liverpool player. “Manchester United have to make that decision tonight.”

Carrick, who replaced Ruben Amorim in the middle of last season, had earned credit after guiding United to Champions League qualification. That strong finish had appeared to provide a degree of stability, but a disastrous start to the current campaign has brought renewed questions over his ability to lead the club.

After the final whistle against Bournemouth, Carrick applauded United’s supporters for an extended period. The gesture was interpreted by some as a possible farewell, despite the defiant tone of his post-match comments.

The crowd also chanted Carrick’s name after Bournemouth scored their third goal. Neville said that support did not necessarily make the manager’s position safe.

“Manchester United fans are chanting Carrick’s name because the question tomorrow is: will he be the manager?” Neville said.

He criticised the club’s owners, sporting department and players, adding: “Carrick is popular, but the owners, the sporting department and the players are not. They have badly let the club down.”

Neville also said the club might make a decision that would anger some supporters but could still be necessary.

“They will probably make a decision tomorrow that will upset Manchester United fans, but it may be a necessary decision,” he said. “The club is in complete chaos.”

Neville repeated his criticism of the decision to appoint Carrick, saying United should have recruited a more experienced manager capable of handling the pressure of leading the club.

“I felt last season that the club should have appointed the best manager available instead of giving the job to Michael Carrick,” he said. “I expected something like this to happen, and this quickly, but things have deteriorated incredibly badly and incredibly quickly. The club is in a mess.”

Further questions were raised by Bruno Fernandes’ absence from the starting line-up. The United captain had criticised Carrick’s tactics after the 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como on Wednesday, then remained on the bench throughout the loss to Bournemouth.

Carrick said the decision was based solely on footballing considerations.

“Team selection is always a difficult decision,” he told Sky Sports. “We have to make what we believe is the right decision for the team, trying to produce the performance we want.”