Michael Carrick played down the injury issue that ruled Matheus Cunha out of Manchester United\u2019s clash with Brentford on Monday, but pre-game reports have shed light an issue the caretaker boss could do with stamping out if he\u2019s to take the permanent reins at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n
Carrick has won eight and drawn two of his 12 games in charge of the Red Devils to make them near certainties to qualify for the Champions League next season<\/a> and give himself a strong chance of being handed a new contract at the end of the season.<\/p>\n Our friends at TEAMtalk revealed on Saturday<\/a> that United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants former England boss Gareth Southgate to be considered as he \u2018has consistently felt that the 55-year-old\u2019s profile would align well with the demands of Old Trafford\u2019.<\/p>\n It\u2019s stressed that Carrick remains the \u2018frontrunner\u2019 for the job as the interim boss detailed a \u2018chat\u2019 he had with Ratcliffe earlier this week.<\/p>\n Carrick said<\/a>: \u201cI met with Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Carrington. We had a chat, a cup of tea. It was nice to see him showing his support. As a football club we\u2019re hugely connected, it\u2019s a big part. I\u2019m really conscious that\u2019s how it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s been claimed that Carrick\u2019s \u2018personality does not align with what the British billionaire would typically go for\u2019 and that Ratcliffe is normally \u2018drawn to alpha characters\u2019. The news which broke hours before kick-off at Old Trafford on Monday is unlikely to have convinced Ratcliffe of Carrick\u2019s strength of character.<\/p>\n Cunha was always a doubt for the game after being replaced by Mason Mount in the latter stages of their 1-0 win over Chelsea last weekend and Carrick revealed why he was left out of the squad in his pre-match interview.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just had a bit of a sore hip flexor after the Chelsea game,\u201d Carrick told Sky Sports. \u201cIt looked promising in the week but he didn\u2019t recover in time, as hoped.\u201d<\/p>\n But we, and Brentford, knew Cunha wouldn\u2019t be playing by mid-afternoon on Monday as several outlets revealed he hadn\u2019t made it thanks to yet another team leak in a rich history of them in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson years.<\/p>\n