Jamie Carragher tells Manchester United to give Michael Carrick time despite poor start

Jamie Carragher believes Manchester United would be making a major mistake by sacking Michael Carrick during their difficult start to the season, arguing the manager deserves time to steady the club.

United sit 12th in the Premier League after collecting five points from their opening five matches, equalling their worst start to a Premier League campaign.

Pressure has increased following a difficult run against Manchester City, Brighton and Fulham, but Carragher believes changing manager now — or at the next international break — would achieve little.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Carragher described the prospect of removing Carrick as “ludicrous”.

“I don't think the idea of changing Michael Carrick now or at the next international break makes sense,” he said. “It just needs to be relaxed, just let him get on with it.”

Carragher does not necessarily see Carrick as United's long-term manager, but believes his current role is important after guiding the club through a turbulent period.

Carrick took United to third last season after replacing Ruben Amorim and securing Champions League qualification. His overall record stands at 14 victories, five draws and five defeats from 24 matches.

Carragher believes another season of stability and Champions League qualification should take priority over another managerial change.

Gary Neville has been far more critical of United's performances, although his frustration was primarily directed towards the players.

Following the 1-1 draw with Fulham, Neville accused United of showing an unacceptable lack of effort and said Carrick needed to stop defending his squad.

United needed a heavily deflected Matheus Cunha effort to rescue a point after Lisandro Martínez's own goal, despite registering 25 shots.

Cunha also acknowledged the problem afterwards.

“In the second half it was like they put in more energy than us,” he said. “We cannot accept this.”

That leaves Carrick facing a significant challenge. Results need to improve, but Carragher's argument is that another managerial reset is unlikely to provide the stability United currently require.

Carrick now has to turn United's performances around quickly enough to prevent the pressure from intensifying.

Carragher believes he should be given the season to provide stability, but United's immediate priority will be ending their three-game winless league run and moving back towards the Champions League places.