Carragher has written in his column for The Telegraph about Carrick's performance as Man Utd's manager.

Carrick has two realistic objectives this season at Man Utd: securing a Champions League spot and preventing Old Trafford from becoming a laughing stock.

Ending the era of Man Utd being a frequent joke might not sound like an unreasonably high expectation. But notably, his two official predecessors have failed to achieve this, showing how much more difficult the challenge is than it appears.

After a turbulent period at the club, Carrick's greatest achievement during his interim tenure was guiding Man Utd back to the top four calmly and professionally.

Coaching from the touchline, he brought a familiar sense of reliability, and crucially, this composure was backed by results. This weekend's Manchester derby is a chance to revisit the "Carrick effect"; in January, when he first took over, Man Utd beat Manchester City 2-0.

Carrick's high points-per-game ratio may not have received enough attention. Saying he stabilised the team would be understating it. Before last weekend's match against Everton, Man Utd had accumulated 42 points from their previous 19 matches. Though the late equaliser at Goodison Park was deeply disappointing, such a half-season record is competitive title-winning form. Arsenal won the league in 2024 with 87 points.

When Carrick took over, Man Utd had dropped to seventh place. The achievement of leading the team to beat Manchester City, followed by consecutive victories over Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, and ultimately finishing in the top three, is genuinely remarkable.

If newly appointed managers at Manchester City, Chelsea or Liverpool had achieved such outstanding results from the start, the outside world would probably hail them as the next Guardiola, Mourinho or Klopp.

Despite these impressive statistics, for Carrick, every assessment resets with a new season. The goodwill fans previously held for him nearly evaporated after the final whistle of the opening-day loss to Hull City. A new manager entering the Premier League might receive some leeway. But harsh criticism of Carrick has emerged, and he has answered back to each criticism, which perfectly illustrates how quickly opinion becomes heated in one of football's highest-pressure management positions.

He must be thinking: "Look at what I've achieved; can't I at least have a few more matches into this new season?"

The difficult situation Carrick and Man Utd face is that over the past decade, the club and its fans have been wounded. Any poor performance, any defeat, is seen as further evidence of "yet another false dawn". Whoever takes charge must bear this historical burden. However, Carrick lacks the authority of an experienced manager; he has no track record of managing any top Premier League club, let alone a giant like Man Utd. Whether he thinks that judgment is fair or not, he must become accustomed to managing under such scrutiny.

On one hand, Carrick needs to completely move beyond the Amorim and Ten Hag eras, and on the other, he's aware that memories of the past remain vivid, and fans and media will certainly worry that the team's deep-rooted problems are merely masked, not resolved.

Even during the period when the team's performance improved significantly, Man Utd's final league position remains a mixed picture. When a team makes a significant leap in league position, they typically use this as a springboard to target higher positions next season.

However, for Man Utd, Carrick's strong second-half performance, propelling them into Champions League qualification, has created an illusion: that the team's strength on paper is far greater than their actual level. Man Utd benefited from having no European commitments, while Liverpool and Chelsea themselves experienced inconsistent form.

One key takeaway from last season's second half is that Carrick and his coaching staff delivered such a convincing performance that the club delayed its search for Amorim's successor. Though there was initially a strong public call for a new manager, Man Utd's leadership had little choice but to keep Carrick in place. Though most rivals completed their planned managerial changes, even if keeping Carrick was a rational decision, it still carries risks.

Outside Old Trafford, many watched Maresca, Xabi Alonso and Iraola and surely thought Man Utd should have pursued a similar managerial change.

Carrick earned this permanent managerial position based on one traditional belief: a manager should be judged by their match results. However, in terms of football philosophy, we still don't know which camp he belongs to in modern football systems.

People typically categorise managers by their training intensity, preferred formation or football philosophy.

Maresca, Alonso and Iraola have established clear and easily recognisable coaching identities. However, Carrick's football philosophy is currently difficult to define; people simply hope he can revive Ferguson's legendary attacking style of play.

Man Utd's counter-attacking system is quite strong, and this has been the foundation for the team's excellent performances in recent seasons. This style of play will be key to beating Manchester City again. However, the team remains too dependent on Bruno Fernandes.

In my view, Man Utd fans generally understand and support the decision to keep Carrick, and they hope he is a long-term candidate to lead the team to reclaim the Premier League or Champions League title; but everyone else outside the club remains sceptical.

In most people's eyes, Carrick's official appointment is essentially still a temporary transition. The club has given him control at Old Trafford simply to wait for a top-tier manager in summer 2027. Of course, Carrick himself would never view the job this way, but this ingrained perception is difficult to shift.

Outside Old Trafford, people view Carrick the way they viewed Solskjaer when he officially took over at Man Utd. Both were initially interim managers because they are club legends. After achieving good results, keeping them in charge long-term was both a rational choice and driven by emotion.

But there's an unavoidable fact that, based solely on their managerial record, top clubs in England or elsewhere in Europe would not proactively offer them positions; other clubs assessing whether to offer a permanent contract would not factor in any emotional elements.

To be frank, the challenges Carrick faces have also haunted Southgate during his time as England manager. One defeat, or one poor tactical decision, and that harsh question will be raised again: does a manager once sacked by Middlesbrough truly deserve one of football's most important management roles?

Fighting against the "fated to fail" narrative

At Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, there are high expectations and curiosity about whether new managers will match or even surpass the great achievements of their predecessors. Fans are waiting for Maresca, Alonso and Iraola to succeed. At Man Utd, Carrick appears to be constantly fighting against a prejudice: that he will ultimately fail.

On paper, Man Utd's early season fixture list is relatively straightforward compared to the other top-four rivals.

However, with just one win in three league matches, and upcoming fixtures against Manchester City, a League Cup tie with Brighton, and an away trip to Fulham, the difficulty of the schedule has increased significantly. When the first international break of the season arrives, there's always a manager in the media spotlight. Carrick needs a few wins to boost morale to avoid becoming the target of criticism. The comfortable victory over Sabah last night is a good start to this crucial period.

Given his record so far, he deserves time to prove he is not just an excellent caretaker but the right long-term leader for Man Utd. But he must also understand that he has a lot to prove to cement his position as Man Utd's permanent manager.

Like last season, the Manchester derby could be the perfect opportunity to begin this journey of proof.

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