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Michael Carrick is dangerously close to being sacked by Manchester United after Wednesday's chastening defeat at the hands of Como. The Red Devils ended up on the wrong side of a 4-1 thrashing in their third Champions League fixture of the campaign, leaving Carrick under enormous pressure to save his job. He has only overseen two wins in 11 games across all competitions since he was appointed on a permanent basis during the summer break.
The pressure had been mounting on Carrick even before United's heavy defeat at the hands of Como, with the club now in a very difficult position.
They must decide whether to pull the plug and give Carrick his marching orders, just five months after he was awarded a permanent contract.
It seemed like a good decision at the time, given how the 45-year-old guided United into the Champions League after replacing Ruben Amorim on an interim basis last season.
However, things haven't worked out as planned and Carrick is now at the mercy of club bosses, who have a big decision on their hands.
It's been reported that a number of potential replacements have already been shortlisted, including the likes of Fabian Hurzeler, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonie Conte.
Nagelsmann, who is currently out of work having left his role as Germany manager after the World Cup, is believed to be among the frontrunners to succeed Carrick at United.
Hurzeler is also admired by those in power at Old Trafford, but appointing him would require paying compensation to his current employers, Brighton.
Alternatively, United could decide to stick with Carrick in the hope he will be able to turn the club's fortunes around. But given their recent history of chopping and changing managers when things get tough, that would seem unlikely.
Who do you think should replace Carrick if he is given the boot? Have your say in our poll below...
Carrick was quizzed on his future after the final whistle against Como and insisted that he wasn't thinking about stepping away from his role.
He said: "I’ve not given my own position any thought. It is the supporters [I am thinking about]. I was one of them tonight watching that and I wasn’t happy at all."
Carrick's fury was palpable after a performance that was markedly different from the encouraging draw at Leeds United over the weekend.
"For us to play in that way is not acceptable," he said. "It wasn’t a good performance at all. We wanted to build on what we brought to Leeds and the performance that we had at Leeds.
"That bit of intensity, that spirit, that aggression, that real willingness to give everything, and tonight was the total opposite of a performance, I have to say. It was tough to watch.
"We can all play well, we can all have poor performances, but to do it in that manner is really not right at all. It wasn’t just the goals, it was the manner and the way we played at times, in the way we went about it, was the difficult thing to watch for me."
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