Michael Carrick left Old Trafford on Monday with another victory to his name after Manchester United beat Brentford 2-1, a result that came courtesy of goals from Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko and pushed United to third in the Premier League with four games remaining.
The win tightened a clear statistical picture: United sit third, 11 points clear of sixth-placed Brighton with four matches left, and Carrick has overseen nine wins in 13 games since taking charge in January. That run — and a polished performance against a stubborn Brentford — prompted former player and pundit Jamie Carragher to say flatly: "He's going to be the Manchester United manager, certainly next season, no doubt about that - and you can't say he doesn't deserve it." Carragher added: "They are absolutely sensational results. They're the results of a title-winning team, or a team going for the league."
There is more on the line than managerial speculation. With the victory, Manchester United edge closer to sealing a return to the Champions League; a positive result next weekend against Liverpool could make qualification certain. That prospect gives immediate meaning to Carrick's steady run since January and to the clutch of results that followed.
Players and staff offered voices that matched the mounting case for Carrick. Harry Maguire said the recent wins have changed the mood inside the dressing room: "I think obviously the results help that the feeling [of confidence about Michael Carrick] massively," he said, adding plainly, "Everyone's believed in it, and we've gathered together." Carrick himself kept the focus tight, stressing cohesion behind the scenes: "I think we're all on the same page," and that his coaching team "came together specifically for the role at Manchester United in January."
The immediate weight of the case for permanence is hard to deny: nine wins in 13 matches, third place with four fixtures to go, and an 11-point cushion over sixth combine to make Carrick the centrepiece of United's recent revival. Carragher went further, narrowing the debate to adaptability and outcomes when he said: "The biggest criticism of Ruben Amorin was that he never adapted, Carrick has shown he can adapt." That endorsement from a prominent pundit has sharpened public expectations about the club's next steps.
But there is a tension between pundit certainties and the club's process. Carrick only took charge in January, initially in an interim capacity, and his own remarks have emphasised togetherness and short-term objectives rather than an explicit push for a permanent contract. The results deliver leverage, yet the club's formal decision-making — not quoted here — remains the hinge on which speculation turns. For now, Carrick has framed the progression as collective work rather than a personal triumph.
Even within the dressing room, the story is pragmatic: performances, not pronouncements, will decide the future. The team’s position gives Carrick the clearest possible runway to press his case. If Manchester United confirm Champions League football against Liverpool next weekend, the argument that Carrick should move from caretaker to long-term manager will harden in a way punditry alone cannot create.
The clearest conclusion the facts support is this: results have placed Carrick in the driver’s seat. With Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko delivering decisive goals and the squad responding under his stewardship, the combination of league position, recent form and public endorsements means Carrick has become the frontrunner to stay — and next weekend’s meeting with Liverpool may well settle it.
