"United messed up" - Journalist says 40 y/o would have been better interim manager than Rangnick

Manchester United‘s season wouldn’t have been any worse had they appointed Michael Carrick as interim manager instead of Ralf Rangnick, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The ex-Red Devils midfielder stepped in for a three-game stint following the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the United hierarchy eventually appointed the German as interim boss for the remainder of the season.

Not many people were calling for Carrick to replace Solskjaer back in November, but the legendary midfielder arguably produced the best three results of United’s season during his spell as caretaker.

Having guided United to a crucial win against Villarreal in the Champions League, which secured their place in the knockout stages, Carrick then took charge of two Premier League games and managed a draw at Chelsea before signing off with a 3-2 victory over Arsenal.

However, the 40-year-old didn’t do enough to get the gig on a full-time basis after Rangnick was brought in from his role as manager of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow to become interim boss.

But Rangnick has overseen United’s worst ever Premier League season, while his side suffered an embarrassing FA Cup exit to Middlesbrough and were also dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid.

As a result, heading into their final top-flight fixture this season, United can’t finish higher than sixth and will be playing in the third-tier Europa Conference League next season if West Ham win their final two games.

Therefore, Jones believes that 40-year-old Carrick being chosen as interim manager might not have been the worst idea.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think most of them appreciate that he wasn’t the answer to stay, but it wouldn’t have been worse than this and