Lineker makes Carrick sack prediction at ‘bonkers’ Man Utd to rile Neville

Gary Lineker has predicted when Michael Carrick will be sacked by “bonkers” Manchester United in what would be the nightmare scenario for Gary Neville.

Carrick has taken caretaker charge of United until the end of the season, replacing Amorim at the helm after the Portuguese boss was relieved of his duties last week.

The United bosses are currently considering permanent options to take charge at the end of the season, with Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi among those thought to be in the frame.

And Neville insisted on the Stick to Football podcast that his former side must resist temptation to appoint Carrick on a permanent basis – as they did with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – “even if he wins every single game”.

Neville said: “I hope Michael does really well.

“We could be sat here at the end of the season with the fans up, with the team fifth in the table and back in the Champions League spots, and we could all be getting swayed with it.

“But there cannot be any consideration that Michael takes the job beyond the end of this season, for the sake of Michael and the club, even if he wins every single game.”

But Lineker predicts Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS bosses will hand Carrick a long-term contract after impressing in caretaker charge this term before sacking him early next season.

Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, Lineker said: “Manchester United, here we go, I said mid-table to get into any European competition would be a bonus. I’ll stick with that, thank you.

“They’re in that pack where they could lose a couple and drop, they’ve got a new man in charge, it’s Michael Carrick until the end of the season, they already had one interim for two games in Darren Fletcher.

“My prediction is that Michael Carrick will do pretty well for the remainder of the season, they’ll give him the job and he’ll be fired by about November (or) December because that club is just bonkers at the minute.”

Ahead of his opening game in charge against Manchester City on Saturday, Carrick opened up on the challenge he faces at Old Trafford.

He said: “I know what it takes to succeed here; my focus is now on helping the players to reach the standards that we expect at this incredible club, which we know that this group is more than capable of producing.

“I have worked with a number of the players already and have obviously continued to watch the team closely in recent years, I have total belief in their talents, dedication and ability to be successful here.

“There is still a lot to fight for this season, we are ready to pull everyone together and give the fans the performances that their loyal support deserves.”