Owen Hargreaves sends clear Michael Carrick warning to Manchester United chiefs

Owen Hargreaves says there will be ‘absolute uproar’ if Michael Carrick steers Manchester United to a top-five finish this season, only for the club to let him leave in the summer.

Carrick has done an extraordinary job since picking up the pieces from Ruben Amorim’s turbulent reign in mid-January, leading United to six wins in his opening eight matches as interim head coach.

The first two of these victories came against the Premier League’s top two teams – in Manchester City and Arsenal – and the run impressive run has seen the Red Devils rise up to third in the table.

But on Wednesday night, Carrick suffered his first major setback in the role as his side were defeated 2-1 by a ten-man Newcastle team at a raucous St James’ Park.

In a frantic end to the first half, Anthony Gordon put Newcastle in front from the penalty spot just moments after Jacob Ramsey was sent off for a second bookable offence for a dive inside the box.

Casemiro headed home to equalise on the stroke of half-time but the Magpies dug deep again to find a last-gasp winner through substitute William Osula, who beat Senne Lammens with a sumptuous curled finish to send the home crowd into raptures.

The result meant Carrick’s men squandered the chance to go two points clear of fourth-placed Aston Villa, who suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in a stacked evening of top-flight action.

They will look to regroup and put the disappointment behind them before playing host to Villa at Old Trafford in just over a week’s time.

‘We’re not happy with the way we played the game tonight,’ Carrick told reporters after the loss in the north east.

‘The way the game panned out, I think we had it in our hands largely, but credit to Newcastle, the way they approached the game.

‘We knew it was going to be a tough game here, we navigated the game to be in a position where we felt we should kick on but we didn’t. So yeah, bitterly disappointed.’

Asked why his players had struggled to gather any momentum despite having a man advantage, Carrick replied: ‘I don’t think it was the ten men, we just didn’t play good enough tonight.

‘We can’t make any excuses for that, we all take responsibility for that.’

Carrick’s promising start in the temporary role has reminded some fans of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s early days at United in his position as interim manager.

And while Solskjaer was sacked three years later after a dismal run of results during the 2021/22 season, Hargreaves was keen to stress that ‘every situation is different’ before kick-off at St James’ Park.

‘Obviously, people are going to have what happened with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in their mind. The biggest compliment I can pay Michael is that he manages just like he played – so understated and with real class,’ Hargreaves said on TNT Sport.

‘He’s prepared, it’s not about him, he puts it out there.

He was a brilliant player and he’s doing a brilliant job as a manager, as a young manager.

‘One thing he has is he’s good with people and he’s given all these boys confidence to go and achieve success.

‘Michael knows what it’s like to be a player, be under pressure, deal with the pressure, deal with the fans, deal with higher-ups in the football club, and so far he’s done it perfectly.’

Hargreaves, who played alongside Carrick at both club and international level, cannot imagine a scenario in which United manage to secure Champions League qualification before looking elsewhere to hire another manager.

Asked if the job was Carrick’s to lose, the ex-United, Bayern Munich and England midfielder replied: ‘It has to be!

‘If he gets into the top five, they can’t not give it to him and if they don’t there’s going to be an absolute uproar.

‘Because from where they were to where they’ll finish in the Champions League places, then they’ll have money to spend to be one of the top teams.

‘You couldn’t not give it to him if he finishes in the top five. I don’t even see how that could be possible.’

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