Roy Keane insisted praise for Michael Carrick has gone ‘over the top’ as he interrupted Gary Neville to debate the Manchester United manager’s future.
Carrick was appointed as interim head coach back in January following Ruben Amorim’s sacking.
The former Man United midfielder has steered the club to Champions League qualification, which was clinched by a 3-2 victory over Liverpool on Sunday.
Carrick’s future will be a major discussion point at the end of the campaign, with Man United’s hierarchy having to decide whether to appoint the 44-year-old on a permanent basis.
Keane has been vocal about Carrick’s future having suggested in January he would not give him the full time job if he won all of his matches in charge, before an apparent U-turn when he declared he ‘hoped’ Man United appointed him.
In the latest discussion about Carrick’s future ahead of Man United’s clash with Liverpool, Keane interrupted Neville on Sky Sports to query the extent of the praise given to the interim boss.
Roy Keane and Gary Neville went head-to-head when debating Michael Carrick’s future
Keane had suggested the praise received by Carrick has ‘gone a bit over the top’
‘He is getting praise for winning football matches, he got praised for tactically changing it on Monday night to a system where United ended up losing the second half,’ Keane said.
‘He is getting credit for that. You are 2-0 up at half-time against Brentford who have not won in five or six, they lost the second half 1-0 and he’s getting thumbs up for that.
‘That is where I draw the line, where it is a bit over the top.’
‘I think they would have lost the game had he kept the system they had in the first half,’ Neville said in response.
Keane interrupted: ‘How, the system they played in the first half they scored two goals and were 2-0 up.’
‘They were hanging on for dear life,’ Neville replied, prompting Keane to interject ‘they were hanging on at Chelsea.’
‘They have been for a few weeks, Neville admitted. ‘The performances in the last few weeks haven’t been great, that is the one thing that is important for Michael. He has got them over the line in these games.
‘I have gone on the record about whether I think Michael should get the job, what I would say is that I am unsure, but my gut feeling when he got the job was that Man United should go out and appoint a world class manager, the very best they can with a body of work with Champions League experience and league titles.
Man United beat Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford to qualify for next season’s Champions League
Victory over LIverpool and a return to the Champions League has strengthened Carrick’s claim to remain Man United boss on a permanent basis
‘Michael obviously doesn’t have that, he’s been at Middlesbrough earning his trade for a few years, I don’t think we are on a different page on that. What I would say is “Who is out there right now that is available and can come in and take over from Michael?”.
‘What he has done is settle the club down on the pitch and everyone has been able to see that, there was a lot of turbulence in the club over the last 12 months.
‘I think today is big, they haven’t been playing well, there has been West Ham, Newcastle, Brentford, Leeds, Chelsea where there have been struggles there they have limped over the line.
‘Today is about making sure they win as they have got a lot more going for them on paper with the injuries Liverpool have got.’
Keane agreed with Neville’s pre-match assessment that the result could have a beating on Carrick’s future, suggesting a victory and positive performance would be a big step towards securing the job permanently.
Man United had stormed into a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford with Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko putting the hosts into a comfortable lead at half-time.
Liverpool battled back with Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo pulling them back level, before Kobbie Mainoo scored Man United’s winner from the edge of the box in the 77th minute.
Keane claimed post-match that the ‘best and the worst’ of Man United had been on show in the match, with Carrick’s side earning praise for netting three against their rivals but expressed concern over an ‘ugly’ second half.
