Paul Scholes has revealed his “concern” over Manchester United’s appointment of Mauricio Pochettino and told the former Tottenham boss to “forget” a pair of “not ruthless” saboteurs.

Carrick is still the Man Utd manager and took training on Wednesday as CEO Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox flew out to Monaco for their regularly scheduled meeting with Sir Jim Ratcliffe to ratify the decision to send him packing.

Although Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann were favourites to replace him at Old Trafford, Pochettino has nipped in ahead of them and has reportedly reached a ‘full agreement’ to take the helm.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed when Pochettino is expected to arrive in a blow to preparation for their trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool in ten days’ time and what Omar Berrada has “already” told him about the January transfer window.

Rio Ferdinand says Pochettino’s name “jumps off the list” of candidates for one key reason, but former teammate Scholes believes the Argentinian boss may be past his best.

“My only concern with someone like Pochettino is that we might be a little late to the party,” Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football. “I think his best work was a few years ago, particularly at Southampton and Tottenham. That was probably the time he should have gone to Manchester United.

“I don’t want people to misunderstand my point about him going to America. Some players move there when they’re approaching the end of their careers, but I’m not saying that’s the case with Pochettino. I actually think he’s a brilliant appointment and could be perfect for United. I just worry that we might not be getting him in his best years.

“But he has to take full control of this football club, almost like Sir Alex Ferguson did. Forget Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada bringing players in. Whoever is responsible for recruitment, the manager must have a massive say. The only way I’d come to this club is if I chose the players and bought them myself. Then you live by the sword, you die by the sword. That’s it.”

Carrick needed to be more ‘ruthless’

Scholes believes it’s the right time to sack Carrick, who wasn’t “ruthless enough” in the summer, along with Berrada and Wilcox, to get rid of the Man Utd deadwood.

He added: “I’ve been good mates with Michael for a long time. I loved playing with him, but I think the time is probably right. I know it’s not official yet, but it looks like it’s going to happen. Winning one game in 10 league matches just isn’t going to cut it. What he did when he first came in, his audition if you like, was very good.

“But I do think he missed a trick in the summer. He could have been more ruthless with players that we and plenty of others know simply weren’t good enough to take the club to the next level. Manchester United should be thinking about winning trophies.

“Now, this might not be down to him. It could be down to Berrada or Wilcox. Out of all three, I don’t think any of them were ruthless enough when it came to getting rid of players who simply weren’t good enough to take United to the next level.”