Gary Neville says Michael Carrick’s position at Manchester United could come under serious threat if their poor run continues until January, although he expects the club to remain patient with their head coach for now.
United were held to a 1-1 draw by old rivals Leeds United on Sunday, extending their winless run to six matches in all competitions. Their last victory came in a 4-0 win against Sabah in their Champions League opener in early September.
Carrick’s team have also failed to win any of their past five Premier League matches, drawing four and losing one. They have recorded only one league victory this season, a 5-2 win against Ipswich Town in August.
The result at Elland Road means United have started a league campaign with just one win from their opening seven matches for the first time since 1986-87, when Ron Atkinson was manager. They finished that season 11th after replacing Atkinson with Alex Ferguson in November.
United are currently 13th in the Premier League table and five points behind fifth-placed Liverpool. Neville believes Champions League qualification is essential, with a top-five finish the minimum requirement for Carrick and the club.
Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast, he said: “I would say fourth would be a birdie, fifth would be par, and sixth would be a bogey.
“They can’t finish outside the top five, because then you’re missing out on the Champions League and it becomes a vicious cycle.
“Then you can’t get players because they want to play in the Champions League, and you can’t get the money from it, and you’ve lost £60m to £70m, and you’re in the Europa League.
“Fifth is a must for Michael Carrick to continue to grow and Manchester United to continue to grow with investment. If they’re 13th in January, he’s got a problem.”
Neville said the club could still view the situation as recoverable, but warned that their performances must improve soon.
“I think it’s still early enough, with seven points from seven games, to say, ‘okay, it’s still early’ – you can’t say that after 15 games,” he said.
“It has to change in the next few weeks: Bournemouth [on Sunday] is really important and so is Chelsea away [on October 31].
“You’ve got to say fifth. You know that anything less than fifth is going to be a disappointment and a drop in standards from 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.”
Carrick described the point at Leeds as progress despite another unconvincing display. Neville said that view reflected the current mood around United.
“There’s a depressed standard and low expectations right now,” he said.
“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.”
