Paul Merson has given his thoughts on whether Manchester United will get relegated from the Premier League this season.

After finishing third in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League last season, Man Utd‘s results and performances have fallen off a cliff in recent months.

Michael Carrick was only named permanent manager at the end of last season, but it already feels like he is fortunate to be in a job because they have only won two of their first 13 matches this term.

Man Utd have also failed to win any of their last nine matches and sit outside of the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference after Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea.

“I’d be shocked if they’re not in the bottom three by then…”

It is now being suggested that Man Utd could face a relegation battle this season, and Merson thinks they will be in the bottom three by next month.

Despite this, Merson cannot see Man Utd getting relegated at the end of this season.

“The first half at Chelsea was alright and then they shot themselves in the foot. What can Michael Carrick do about that? It doesn’t matter who’s sat on the bench, you could have Carlo Ancelotti, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson in the dugout, and you’re not winning a football match,” Merson told Sky Sports.

“The problem is the fans love Carrick. The people above, if they’re making decisions, they’ve got to be careful. Then the fans go against them – they can see it’s not really Carrick, is it?

“Do the people making the decisions upstairs want the fans to turn on them? When that happens, they’ll have to go because they’ll be under scrutiny. They’re not at the moment, because they’re keeping the manager.

“On December 5, they play Coventry. I’d be shocked if they’re not in the bottom three by then. That’ll be about a third of the season gone then. They might go and get a big result, Villa looked beatable the other day.

“I don’t see them getting relegated, absolutely not. But this is not Manchester United.”

“There’s no quick fix. They got it all wrong upstairs…”

Merson has also explained why he thinks Man Utd’s issues go far beyond Carrick.

“The problem they have at the moment is they’re just up against it in a situation where it’s out of the manager’s hands,” Merson added.

“These players earn so much money, some of them will just go out and do and say what they want. They don’t get punished, they’re just playing the game.

“When Lisandro Martinez then goes and gets sent off like that, if it was under Ferguson he’d never play for them again. But they haven’t got a squad.

“There’s no quick fix. They got it all wrong upstairs. The first window, they went for the forward line but it wasn’t good enough. Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko, they’re nice players but they’re not 20-25 goal-a-season players.

“You’ve got to be a seven, seven and a half out of 10 every week at Manchester United. But they’re a four one week, a nine the next. You can play for Wolves or Brentford and do that, no disrespect. The day you’re a nine you win the match and everyone’s pleased. When you’re a four, people say that’s just the way it is.”