Michael Carrick arrived at Carrington on Tuesday morning with his position as Manchester United head coach hanging by a thread. The expectation is that the 45-year-old will be sacked today, with chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox recommending a change in the dugout after losing faith that he is the right man to lead the club out of crisis.
Early arrival as pressure builds
Carrick and the United players not away on international duty were due to report to Carrington on Tuesday, and the head coach arrived at 7.15am. He used to report for duty at around 7.30am, but sources said he had been arriving earlier in recent weeks as the pressure intensifies.
The chaotic 4-4 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday means United will spend the international break in the relegation zone, having won just one of their 10 Premier League games this season.
Recent results under scrutiny
Carrick came close to the sack two weeks ago after back-to-back defeats to Como and Bournemouth by a margin of three goals, but he was given an unexpected chance to prove he could turn things around. Since then, performances have improved, with United playing well in the first half in defeat to Chelsea and fighting back from 2-0 down to beat Roma in the Champions League. They were 2-0 and 4-2 down to Villa before salvaging an unlikely draw.
However, United have conceded eight goals in those three games, and Berrada and Wilcox were holding talks on Monday to review whether Carrick had shown he could change the situation.
Successor search underway
With the decision expected to be that he cannot, Carrick is likely to be sacked after 32 games in charge, and work on a potential successor is underway. USA boss Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as the frontrunner in the past couple of days, and his contract includes a release clause that would make any move for the Argentine easier.
