Gary Neville has warned that Michael Carrick will face serious difficulties if Manchester United remain in poor form come December or January.
Drawing with Leeds United at Elland Road extends the club's winless run to six matches and leaves them 13th in the Premier League table. Carrick's side have still yet to beat a team that was in the top flight last term.
Neville Calls Bournemouth Clash Crucial
Neville regards their forthcoming league fixture against Bournemouth as absolutely crucial, insisting the club must turn their fortunes around within the coming weeks. He views the 1-1 draw as a positive stride in the right direction, though.
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the Sky Sports pundit said: "[There's] a depressed standard and a low expectation right now. But it'll feel like a stepping stone for Michael Carrick, and it'll feel like the first step on the ladder in the Premier League."
Bench Options Highlighted
Neville added: "They may take some confidence from that, and there might be a blueprint there, maybe we have to bring Matheus Cunha, Marcus Rashford and others off the bench, and we might just have to have a go at being more solid."
Cunha was restricted to a brief late appearance at Elland Road, while Rashford failed to feature at all.
Top-Five Finish a Must
Casting his eye further ahead, Neville said: "I would say fourth would be a birdie, fifth would be par, and sixth would be a bogey."
"But they can't finish outside the top five because then you're missing out on the Champions League, and it becomes a vicious circle. You can't get those players because they want to play in the Champions League, and you can't get the money from it, and you've lost the £60m-£70m, and you're in the Europa League on Thursday nights."
"Fifth is a must for Michael Carrick to continue to grow and Manchester United continue to grow with investment."
January Warning
Neville concluded: "If they're 13th in January, he's got a problem because then you are what you are, whereas I think it's still early enough, seven points from seven games, to say, 'OK, still early in the season'; you can't say that after 15 games."
"It has to change in the next few weeks: Bournemouth is really important, and Chelsea away, and how he manages the games in between that."
"You've got to say fifth; you know that anything less than fifth is going to be a disappointment and a drop in standard from the start of the season, where everybody expected them to finish, and at the moment, they're well short of that because you look at Brighton, Liverpool, Aston Villa - they look like they're picking up a little bit, it's difficult."
