Gary Neville has said he is surprised but happy that Manchester United have decided to keep Michael Carrick as manager despite a poor start to the season. The former midfielder had been under heavy pressure after Sunday's heavy defeat to Bournemouth.
United officials held crisis talks on Monday at Carrington, with a decision only reached on Tuesday. As it stands, the club is set to stick with Carrick and give him the chance to stop the decline.
Neville's reaction to the decision
Speaking to Sky Sports, Neville said: "I'm happy. I'm surprised, but I'm happy because I was absolutely certain that what I witnessed on Sunday would be the end of Michael."
He added: "It looked like it when he was walking around on his own with the players behind him like it was almost like a goodbye lap. He was waving to the fans almost in like an apologetic manner but also a goodbye."
Neville continued: "So I'm surprised that ultimately Michael is still in a job and I'm happy with it because the fact of the matter, it was very difficult on Sunday. How it's going to go over the next couple of weeks, I have no idea."
He also said: "But I hope he can get somehow he can get those players playing for him again because they've not been playing for him for the past few weeks."
Earlier claims about Carrick's future
Neville's comments come days after he claimed Carrick was sure to be moved on, while he also criticised United's hierarchy for their role in the club's problems.
Speaking at the time, he said: "Michael Carrick, they're probably going to sack him in the next two hours, 12 hours, 24 hours. The rumours coming out on Thursday or Friday were that Wilcox and [Christopher] Vivell are torn over whether it'll be Eddie Howe or Julian Nagelsmann and they've spoken to these two managers."
He added: "So Michael Carrick's a dead man walking already. He's coming into his press conference on Friday, doing a five-minute monologue, which is effectively just the club history, the players who've played for the club, the managers who have represented the club. That's the end."
Carrick's upcoming fixtures
Carrick's first chance to turn the tide comes this weekend with United set to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. That is followed by a Champions League showdown with Roma and a testing fixture with Aston Villa ahead of the second international break of the season.
