Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney “100 percent” convinced former teammate should be club permanent manager  

Manchester United are a step closer to securing a Champions League spot next season after their 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon. It’s another fantastic result for interim manager Michael Carrick, and now he is convincing just about everyone that he could be the man for the job for the long haul.

Carrick has “given players love”

Wayne Rooney has confessed that he thinks the “interim” part of Carrick’s job title needs to be removed after everything he has done since taking over for Ruben Amorim. “One hundred per cent he should [get the job]. I have said this. I knew this was going to happen with Michael Carrick. I know him very well. I know his character, his personality. It needed a calm head, but someone who knows the place and the players needed some love, and he has given them that. We have seen the players play with more quality, more together as a team, and they look like a very strong team,” Rooney told BBC One.

It has been a fantastic start first few months for Carrick who managed his ninth match with the Red Devils on Sunday afternoon. It was his ninth game in the United dugout and he has won seven, drawn one, and lost one. Numbers that Rooney says have been more than enough for his former teammate to earn the full time job at Old Trafford. “For me, why would you change? He has got the best winning percentage of any Manchester United manager after that many games. For me, he has to get the job.”

The three points Manchester United secured against Villa means they are now in 3rd place behind Arsenal and Manchester City, and have a three point advantage over Aston Villa in fourth. With eight matches left in the season, it should come down to the wire for United and Carrick, but the way Manchester United have been playing under their new manager would lead you to think they are favorites for a top three spot.

Not everyone sold on Carrick

Rooney and Carrick were teammates for over a decade. From 2006 to 2017 they won five league titles, a Champions League. Rooney has been one of Carrick’s biggest supporters for the role, but not everyone who shared the dressing room with the the current manager.

Roy Keane was adamant that Carrick shouldn’t be named the long term manager even if he won every game from since he took over in January. Gary Neville has also pondered if a proper manager with a track record of success would be a better option than Carrick, but didn’t rule out his former midfield teammate getting a chance to be named full time manager.

Carrick now has eight matches to make his case to be named Manchester United’s full time manager. The first of the remaining tests for the Red Devils is Bournemouth this Friday from Vitality Stadium.

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