{"id":403428,"date":"2026-01-10T04:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T04:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/403428\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T04:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T04:23:10","slug":"manchester-united-caretaker-coach-race-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-michael-carrick-darren-fletcher-roy-keane-swipes-sir-alex-ferguson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/403428\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United caretaker coach race, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Roy Keane swipes Sir Alex Ferguson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester United legend Roy Keane has delivered a jab at his former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, claiming he\u2019s \u201changing on like a bad smell\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>It comes as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set to meet with club bosses regarding the caretaker role, while Michael Carrick has reportedly already met with United leadership about the position. <\/p>\n<p>Watch the biggest Aussie sports &amp; the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkgeneric-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-grc-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767942068_240_poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Former club captain Keane, who infamously fell out with Ferguson in 2005, put both Sir Alex and ex-chief executive David Gill in the crosshairs. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Sky Sports, the Irish icon questioned United\u2019s interview process given the repeated dismissals since Ferguson\u2019s decorated reign, which ended in 2013. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens in these job interviews? I\u2019m intrigued. Why do they keep giving certain people a job?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happens in the interview that they sit there and go &#8230; and 12, 14 months later, \u2018He\u2019s not the guy for us\u2019. Do you not suss that out when you speak to them?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou see who\u2019s making the decisions at Manchester United. You still have Ferguson and David Gill hanging on like a bad smell. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho\u2019s making the decisions? Ratcliffe, Wilcox?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Keane\u2019s comments come while former United midfielder and current under-18s coach Darren Fletcher is currently in the caretaker role following Ruben Amorim\u2019s sacking after 14 shallow months in charge. <\/p>\n<p>Fletcher, a former United teammate of Keane\u2019s, had earlier said he\u2019d contacted Ferguson to consult with him before agreeing to serve as United\u2019s caretaker. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t like to make any major decisions without speaking to Sir Alex,\u201d Fletcher said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got a really good relationship with Sir Alex, so I wanted to speak to him first and ultimately to get his blessing, to be perfectly honest with you. I think he deserves that respect.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to run it by him, and he echoed my thoughts. When you\u2019re an employee of the club, it\u2019s your job to do your best for Manchester United. It is something I try and live and believe every day, so it was comforting for me for him to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And while the club is seeking a caretaker from outside, an appointment is considered unlikely to be made before Monday\u2019s FA Cup clash with Brighton. <\/p>\n<p>But when it is eventually made, former United midfielder Carrick is thought to be right next to Solskjaer in the running to be hired. <\/p>\n<p>Sky Sports UK <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/football\/news\/11095\/13492594\/man-utd-new-manager-latest-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-to-hold-talks-with-club-on-saturday\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">reports<\/a> Carrick, who retired from playing in 2018 and recently wrapped up a three-year Championship stint with Middlesbrough, \u201chas already met the club\u2019s leadership this week to discuss the role\u201d. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Solskjaer, who was United\u2019s permanent head coach from 2019-21, is set for a face-to-face rendezvous of his own with United higher-ups on Sunday AEDT. <\/p>\n<p>Roy Keane has swiped his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>-Fletcher defends United academy after Amorim criticism-<\/p>\n<p>United interim boss Fletcher said Saturday that the club\u2019s academy is one of the best in the world after recent critical comments from sacked manager Ruben Amorim.<\/p>\n<p>Fletcher was put in temporary charge of the club following the dismissal of Amorim on Tuesday, leading them to a 2-2 draw at Burnley two days later.<\/p>\n<p>The Portuguese was criticised for not giving enough opportunities to the club\u2019s academy graduates, most notably Kobbie Mainoo.<\/p>\n<p>And last month he questioned the performances of Harry Amass and Chido Obi, describing a \u201cfeeling of entitlement\u201d at United.<\/p>\n<p>But Fletcher, appointed under-18s head coach in July and himself a product of the club\u2019s academy, robustly defended the youth set-up ahead of United\u2019s FA Cup third-round clash against Brighton on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>United have named a homegrown player in every matchday squad since 1937. \u201cHistorically, this club\u2019s built around the academy, we\u2019ve got an amazing academy,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cOur record speaks for itself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to stand here and say anything other than that. We\u2019ve got an amazing record. I think it\u2019s hard to beat in terms of the history of clubs around the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we\u2019ve got some amazing players, some amazing talents. I think what I see is a lot of hard-working, humble young players who aren\u2019t perfect because they\u2019re young and they\u2019re learning and they\u2019ve got a lot to do.\u201d Mainoo played for England in the 2024 European Championship final, but is yet to start a Premier League game this season.<\/p>\n<p>Fletcher said the 20-year-old\u2019s mood was difficult to judge because he \u201cdoesn\u2019t give you much\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s in a good place, he\u2019s trained well and as I said, he\u2019s hard to read Kobe, so that remains to be seen,\u201d said the interim boss.<\/p>\n<p>United, seventh in the Premier League, are searching for a caretaker manager until the end of the season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick both linked with the role.<\/p>\n<p>Fletcher brushed aside questions over his own future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Director of football) Jason (Wilcox) and (chief executive) Omar (Berrada) have given me full responsibility to take control of these two games, make my own decisions, lead the team, guide the team, prepare the team, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United legend Roy Keane has delivered a jab at his former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, claiming he\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5118,82851,64,63,214176,214174,214170,85022,39221,202080,214173,1208,2057,43263,214167,11999,6255,214169,211654,3583,52762,214168,1614,53958,1532,214175,2643,85,214166,207524,214171,19121,214172],"class_list":["post-403428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-alex","tag-alex-ferguson","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-caretaker-contender","tag-caretaker-manager","tag-caretaker-role","tag-club-bosses","tag-club-captain","tag-darren-fletcher","tag-david-ian-gill","tag-england","tag-europe","tag-fox-football","tag-interim-boss","tag-manchester-city-football-club","tag-manchester-united-football-club","tag-matchday-squad","tag-michael-carrick","tag-northern-europe","tag-ole-gunnar-solskjaer","tag-permanent-head","tag-premier-league","tag-roy-keane","tag-ruben-amorim","tag-sir-alex","tag-sky-sports","tag-sports","tag-temporary-charge","tag-united-academy","tag-united-interim-boss","tag-young-players","tag-youth-set-up"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}