Rio Ferdinand has poured praise onto Michael Carrick following his scintillating start as Manchester United’s interim manager.
For a coach, especially one on the younger side, heading into a new job, you’d struggle to find a more difficult double-header of fixtures than the ones Carrick walked into.
How Carrick has fared since taking the reins
Hosting arch-rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford while they vie to make up the gap and displace Arsenal atop the table, followed by the Premier League leaders on their home soil, where they have yet to taste defeat all season.
Yet, remarkably, the two sides were no match for Carrick’s triumphant Red Devils.
United overturned the Blues 2-0 in the 198th instalment of the Manchester derby before recording a sensational 3-2 victory over Arsenal in North London last night.
The back-to-back wins have ensured that United rounded off matchweek 23 in fourth place, above both Chelsea and Liverpool, who are desperate to secure Champions League qualification themselves.
Despite the five-star displays, Roy Keane said at full-time last night that he would not give Carrick the permanent manager position even if the former Red won every single fixture from now until May.
"He deserves a chance!"
Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira disagree over whether Michael Carrick could be Manchester United's manager long-term 👀 pic.twitter.com/9ZD0pGHRYo
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 25, 2026
Ferdinand: Why not Carrick?
Doing so would be a repeat of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign, as he was initially brought in to steady the ship on a short-term basis before his impressive record saw him appointed on a permanent contract.
Indirectly reacting to Keane’s comments on Sky Sports with a quickly released podcast video, Ferdinand had his say.
“Two weeks ago, it was a sorry state of affairs. We [United] were the butt of everyone’s jokes. It was a debacle that we were looking at,” said Ferdinand.
“Michael Carrick’s come in and turned the collar up on his long trench coat, and said, ‘Listen, guys, get behind me.’
“I’m going to put you in a structure that’s going to suit the layers we have. We’re going to be hard to play against, we’re going to work hard, and we’re going to be a threat.
“And by the way, my first two games are Man City and Arsenal – and he’s gone and got six points. People are telling me that no matter what Michael Carrick does, he shouldn’t get an opportunity to manage Man United. The disrespect is unbelievable.”
“People are telling me Michael Carrick shouldn’t get an opportunity to manage Man United”
CC: @rioferdy5, @joelbeya, @MrStephenHowson pic.twitter.com/JSOxi0mYwW
— Rio Ferdinand Presents (@RioMeets) January 25, 2026
We got carried away with Ole, it would be a mistake to repeat with Michael at this stage. 16 games left then decide. But so far he has done great. Can the powers that be please get it right this time.
Rio is correct and it’s a show of disrespect by Roy. If Micheal can do the job in the short term then give him a 6 month rolling contract for 18 months, if he believes in himself and his commitment to Inited he will take the rolling contract and that gives United a chance to assess the situation without a huge payoff if it fails. I believe Micheal has the club interest at heart and would go for that