United are 16th, one point above the relegation zone, after a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth on Sunday.
Michael Carrick will remain Manchester United's head coach for Saturday's trip to Chelsea. The club opted to give the 45-year-old another chance after a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth on Sunday left them 16th in the Premier League, one point above the relegation zone.
Former United captain Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: "I am surprised, but I am happy because I was absolutely certain that what I witnessed on Sunday would be the end of Michael." He added: "But I hope he can somehow get those players to start playing for him again because they haven't played for him in the last few weeks."
On Thursday, Neville told the Stick to Football podcast that the club had got stuck in indecision. "I reckon what's happened in the 24 hours after Bournemouth is that they've literally debated it back and forth," he said. He did not know this for certain, but thought the debate had left the club in a muddle.
He linked the decision to keep Carrick to poor planning, a lack of probably available options and a lack of decision-making over the two people who are probably available.
Neville also argued that a sacking can sometimes help a manager:
"Sometimes a manager needs sacking for their own good."
Carrick's position was already precarious before the Bournemouth game. Captain Bruno Fernandes criticised the team's tactics after the 4-1 Champions League loss at Como last week, and was dropped for the Bournemouth match. Fernandes and Carrick have since sat down for talks aimed at clearing the air. Neville said the captain's public criticism could point to wider frustration in the dressing room: "If Bruno Fernandes, the captain of the club, comes out and questions the manager's tactics after a 4-1 defeat in Como, where he's played like a drain, and he's been playing like a drain for three months, and the rest of them have as well, that is only 1 or 2% of what they're actually saying internally," Neville said.
United fans sang Carrick's name as he applauded the crowd after the Bournemouth defeat, which Neville called "effectively a farewell lap". Those supporters then booed the squad the instant Carrick walked off towards the tunnel. Carrick rejected that reading: "It wasn't a farewell from me," he insisted.
Sky Sports reported that United's director of football, Jason Wilcox, and chief executive, Omar Berrada, discussed Carrick's future at Carrington on Monday, and that it is understood they had already been considering alternatives for the head coach role. Carrick took training on Tuesday, and the club decided to give him at least one more match. BBC Sport reported that it is understood United's hierarchy have explored replacing him, with ex-Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe and former Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann under consideration.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said: "I think he can never say publicly, but I think Michael Carrick would want to be put out of his misery. I really do." Roy Keane, another former United captain, added: "He needs the players more than they need him. That's football in a nutshell. The players know he's gone, but these are the same players who got him the job last year. So they're running the show."
Former United winger Ashley Young said on the Overlap Daily that United could struggle to attract a top-level replacement, as managers may not be keen to take charge of this squad.
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