Article body analysed

Join The Club for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation plus sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the

Terms & Conditions

and

Privacy Policy

and are aged 16 or over.

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

Football Quizzes Quick quizzes for

football fans. Football Crosswords Football-themed crossword challenges.

Explore your membership benefits.

Find the subscription that suits you

We’ve

highlighted the subscriptions our members get the most value from.

A former Manchester United favourite has lashed out at Michael Carrick after the interim head coach suffers his first defeat

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Five times a week Four Four Two Daily Fantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more. Once a week . .. And it’s LIVE! Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off! Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Manchester United aren’t the easiest club to manage and doing so on an interim basis certainly seems to come with its ups and downs. Michael Carrick won his first four matches after succeeding Ruben Amorim, starting with a 2-0 win against city rivals Manchester City and making the former head coach look worse by comparison with every passing game. The pressure is always on, though, and not just from the people who hold sway inside the club. Sometimes, the grey area between inside and outside can spawn the most vituperative criticism.

Man United are one of a handful of the biggest Premier League clubs whose management and players are forever being buffeted around the inside of the punditry tumble dryer. It’s handy that the likes of Gary Neville and Roy Keane are such prominent voices when things are going well, but the scrutiny of an army of club legends is bound to make life difficult for a struggling boss. A post shared by The Good, The Bad & The Football (@goodbadfootball) A photo posted by on Carrick isn’t struggling. Performances are just part of the picture and most supporters are fixated on results, given what’s at stake at this juncture in the season. Since Amorim’s departure and Darren Fletcher’s brief caretaker leadership, Carrick has won six of his eight Premier League games. Wednesday’s late defeat at Newcastle United was an unwelcome setback but United’s form under Carrick has been a significant upgrade. Nevertheless, former Red Devils midfielder Paul Scholes appears to be unimpressed. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. A long-time teammate of Carrick for both club and country, Scholes is notoriously tricky to win over. He holds United to the impossible standards set while he and Alex Ferguson were at the club and has a keen eye for when they’re falling short. In a now-deleted post on Instagram stories, Scholes verbalised his discontent after United’s loss at St James’ Park. “Michael has definitely got something special about him…cos Utd have been crap last 4 games…night, ” posted the 51-year-old ex-United midfielder and 11-time Premier League winner, signing off with a kiss.

Get VIP Manchester United tickets HERE with Seat Unique! Manchester United's hospitality offers comfortable, padded seating in the North West Quadrant. The package includes a concourse meal deal (hot food, drink, and snack) and the official matchday programme. Guests also receive a 10 per cent Megastore discount and non-matchday Museum entry, providing a great value, family-friendly match experience for home fans. Five of Scholes’ Premier League titles were won alongside Carrick, whose attention is squarely on the job at hand. Long since knocked out of the FA Cup, United have a 10-day break before a vital battle against Aston Villa in the race for Champions League places when the Premier League returns after this weekend’s fifth round fixtures. United then play AFC Bournemouth away and Leeds United at home before a crunch clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the middle of April. If United’s form holds – at least in terms of results, which even Scholes surely finds difficult to question – they’ll be in a strong position as they ready themselves for that vital fixture. Carrick may or may not be in the running to inherit the job proper in the summer and clearly takes his role very seriously. For some United fans, the sense that one or two ex-players aren’t on the same page is never far away. Chris is a Warwickshire-based freelance writer, Editor-in-Chief of AVilla Fan. com, author of the High Protein Beef Paste football newsletter and owner of Aston Villa Review. He supports Northern Premier League Midlands Division club Coventry Sphinx. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Four Four Two is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

©

Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury,

Bath

BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait. ..