Manchester United are expected to appoint an interim head coach until the end of the season after sacking Ruben Amorim. Here, we assess the pros and cons of the main contenders.
It’s all change at Manchester United once again following the club’s decision to sack Ruben Amorim from his position as head coach on Monday.
Whether it was a shock or justified, there’s no time to dwell on matters with United still very much in the thick of a Premier League campaign that resumes at Burnley on Wednesday.
Former United midfielder – and current Under-18s coach – Darren Fletcher will be in charge for that and possibly Sunday’s FA Cup encounter with Brighton & Hove Albion before the club are expected to appoint an interim head coach until the end of the season.
Here, we look at the leading names in contention for the interim role and weigh up the pros and cons of each.
Darren Fletcher
Pros
It makes sense to begin with the man who’s actually going to get an audition of sorts, Darren Fletcher.
The former Scotland international is a very familiar face at United. As such, many of the pros of giving him the job until June are quite obvious – but we’ll spell them out anyway.
For starters, Fletcher is already integrated into this Manchester United environment. So, not only does he have a lot of history with the club as a player, his 223 Premier League appearances for United being bettered by only 21 players, but he’s held numerous backroom/coaching roles since returning in 2020.
A lot of his time has been spent working with the club’s development teams, including his current primary role in charge of the Under-18s. As such, he’ll have excellent knowledge of United’s younger players, and not just the Under-18s, as he’s also worked closely with the Under-21s.
Whether that should be a decisive factor in this hire isn’t for us to say, but Fletcher’s background would certainly indicate a good fit with United’s ethos and history. And not unrelated to that, he spoke at the weekend about getting his youngsters to play like a “proper United” with fast attacks and wing play, which would be music to the fans’ ears.
A strong personality, quite charismatic and United to the core, Fletcher has a lot going for him.
Cons
There’s one truly glaring issue with any plan to appoint Fletcher, but it’s a big one: his lack of managerial experience.
While he has held prominent coaching positions at United, his current role in charge of the Under-18s is his first actually leading a team, and he was only appointed to that position in the summer.
So, although there may not be lots of obvious cons to Fletcher, there are plenty of potential drawbacks attached to the issue of lacking experience.
United still have a lot to play for in the league. This isn’t the same as sticking Ryan Giggs in charge for the final few games of 2013-14 when seasonal objectives had already gone out the window.
No, how they finish the season may determine the standard of permanent manager they can attract – United cannot afford to make the wrong decision here.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Pros
If Fletcher is deemed just too inexperienced and too much of a risk to appoint until the end of the season but the United hierarchy still want someone “who knows the club”, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is an obvious shout.
The Norwegian, a United legend, has reportedly told the club he’s open to returning, and compared to Fletcher, he boasts significant coaching experience.
After all, he’s been here before – in every sense. A shock interim hire in December 2018 after José Mourinho was sacked, Solskjaer was allowed by Molde to take over until the end of 2018-19, and his impact was immediate.
He won each of his first eight games in charge, which set a new club record for successive wins in all competitions. He was subsequently hired on a permanent contract having won 14 of his first 19 matches.
Solskjaer went on to lead United to a third-place finish in 2019-20, then second in 2020-21, while he was widely praised for putting faith in the club’s younger players and being an effective man manager.
His first spell didn’t end well, granted, but Solskjaer would probably be a feel-good appointment who gives the team a lift while returning to principles supporters relate to more than with Amorim.
Cons
Looking back, the final couple of months of Solskjaer’s reign weren’t pretty. A run of five defeats in seven Premier League games was bad, though it was the manner of some of those losses that really set alarm bells ringing, such as the 5-0 thrashing at home to Liverpool and the 4-1 hammering by Watford.
Compared to what United fans had to endure under Amorim, however, one difficult spell like that probably doesn’t sound too troubling now.
Nevertheless, there were other concerns around Solskjaer. For instance, some felt he was something of a one-trick pony regarding his penchant for counter-attacking football; the perceived lack of a plan B drew criticism and led to suggestions he wasn’t tactically astute enough.
There were some galling defeats as well: the aforementioned humiliation by Liverpool, the 6-1 loss at home to Tottenham, a 4-0 reverse at Everton. And sceptics could point to the fact that a large part of his reign coincided with the coronavirus pandemic, which required practically all of 2020-21 – when United came second – to be played behind closed doors.
Either way, you can only win the games in front of you and he won 51.4% of his in the Premier League, a record bettered only by Alex Ferguson (65.2%), Mourinho (53.8%) and Erik ten Hag (51.8%) among United bosses; Amorim’s was just 31.9%.
Michael Carrick
Pros
Yes, another former United player, but again one with a decent case for returning to the club. Remember, we’re focusing here specifically on an interim position until the end of the season, rather than the club’s next permanent manager – sorry, that should be head coach.
Like Fletcher and Solskjaer, Michael Carrick also has a strong association with the club having played the majority of his career there and also spent over three years as assistant to Mourinho and Solskjaer.
Carrick has been in caretaker charge of United before as well, briefly after Solskjaer was dismissed in 2021, before then going on to spend over two and a half years as Middlesbrough boss.
During his time at the Riverside, Carrick’s team were often praised for the eye-catching football they played, and for a while he looked likely to end up in the Premier League sooner or later – not least because he took Boro to the play-offs in his first season.
Their fourth-place finish that campaign (2022-23) was their best since Boro were last promoted in 2015-16, though the team regressed over the following two years until Carrick was dismissed last summer.
Nevertheless, he’s available, has decent high-level management and coaching experience, will be well attuned to what United fans expect, and he’s unlikely to feel an interim post – at Old Trafford, anyway – is beneath him.
Cons
Although Carrick’s spell at Middlesbrough started well, his two full seasons in charge were largely characterised by underperforming in relation to expectations.
He was criticised for a perceived lack of tactical flexibility, with Boro widely deemed predictable and easy to play against as his tenure went on.
Linked to that, Carrick’s critics were also concerned about a lack of impactful substitutions – only eight teams in the Championship scored fewer than their seven goals via subs last season, for instance.
Boro chairman Steve Gibson apparently still held Carrick in high regard even though he dismissed him, but some might point to the fact Middlesbrough are now flying high in second as proof that cutting him loose was the right decision.
Travis Binnion
Pros
Along with the returning Jonny Evans, United Under-21s coach Travis Binnion assist Fletcher at least for the Burnley game.
With that in mind, it would certainly seem from the outside that he’s some way down the pecking order in terms of likelihood to take over until the end of the season – and crucially, behind Fletcher.
But he can point to more coaching experience than Fletcher, having worked in numerous roles at United since 2019, and before that he held various similar positions at Sheffield United as far back as 2010.
Officially, Binnion is United’s head of player development and coaching for players aged 17 to 21, and that entails overseeing the Under-21 side, who are second and only a point behind Premier League 2 leaders Ipswich Town this season with a game in hand.
He values “fast, attacking, brave” football and sees his teams broadly set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape – so there wouldn’t be much danger of more talk about three at the back, though you could probably say similar of most coaches in this list.
Furthermore, considering Binnion’s longevity at the club, he probably knows their young players better than anyone – and he’ll have coached the homegrown talents who are currently in the first-team or on the fringes. That includes Kobbie Mainoo, Chido Obi, Toby Collyer, Shea Lacey, Sékou Koné, Tyler Fredericson, Jack Fletcher and Tyler Fletcher.
Clearly well regarded for his work in United’s academy, and a familiar face for most even in the senior side, he could be a stabilising option for a few months.
Cons
While his general coaching experience certainly goes back a lot further than that of Fletcher, Binnion would also be a rookie when it comes to taking the reins at a senior level.
All of his experience in football relates to youth, academy or development positions. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t adapt quickly to managing the senior side – who knows, he might be a perfect fit; that’s not for us to say so or otherwise.
However, where someone like Fletcher can still command respect because of his exceptional playing career at the very top, Binnion doesn’t have the same cachet in the game.
Would he have the authority to lead the United dressing room effectively? Many would have their doubts.
Gareth Southgate
Pros
If we were to divert to discussing options for the permanent head coach role in the summer, former England boss Gareth Southgate would almost certainly be on the list.
Southgate’s been out of a job since leading England to the Euro 2024 final, but links with United aren’t anything new. Granted, speculation in the past about apparent interest in him may well have been driven by Dan Ashworth, who left United shortly after Amorim joined. But Sir Jim Ratcliffe is also said to be an admirer.
In some ways, this United is fairly comparable to the environment Southgate walked into when he was appointed England manager in 2016: there’s a disillusioned fanbase, the team has underperformed for years, a culture shift is required, and a proper leader is needed to steer the ship.
In most respects, the job Southgate did with England was beyond anyone’s expectations. Sure, it certainly helped to take over when talent development took off, but there’s no question his widely acclaimed man-management skills and calming nature played a role.
He was likeable, nurturing, led with distinction, and he was prepared to call up young players – there’s a lot to him that would fit with United’s ethos.
It also cannot be ignored that, before Southgate, England had been to one major tournament semi-final since 1966; he took them to three semis – including two finals – in four tournaments.
Cons
An important point to address right away is that Southgate may well – and with some justification – feel an interim role is beneath him.
Nevertheless, his stock in the club game is arguably relatively low given he’s not worked outside of international football since 2009, when he left Middlesbrough shortly after getting relegated to the Championship with them.
So, you would think Southgate will harbour some interest if the possibility of a permanent deal was plausible, but it’s worth remembering there are numerous examples of successful international managers failing to translate their skills to the everyday grind of club football.
There will also be some antipathy relating to style of play. Southgate’s final couple of years with England were somewhat marred by fans bemoaning his pragmatic, unimaginative brand of football. As the graphic below highlights, his team’s style was considerably slower than what the other contenders might be associated with.
How long his brand of football would be tolerated by supporters at Old Trafford is unclear, but if that trade-off didn’t coincide with a dramatic improvement in results, it’s hard to imagine fans not growing frustrated.
Enzo Maresca
Pros
Probably more so than anyone else on this list, Enzo Maresca will in all likelihood feel he’s worth more than an interim position – so, the chances are he’ll not be guiding United until the end of the season.
But like with Southgate, the opportunity to come in and almost approach the rest of 2025-26 as an audition might prove too tantalising a proposition to turn down. This is still Manchester United, after all.
There are plenty of reasons why Maresca might be seen as a decent option, too.
For starters, he has coached at the very top and generally done pretty well. He took Leicester City to promotion from the Championship, then led Chelsea to a fourth-place finish and two trophies in his only full season at Stamford Bridge.
Some will point to the fact Chelsea spent a lot of money while he was there, but it’s also worth remembering the team he guided to fourth were comfortably the youngest in the Premier League (starting XI average age of 24 years, 36 days). And with that in mind, ample experience working with young players would likely be seen as another point in his favour.
There also wouldn’t be too many initial concerns about the football he tends to play; he generally utilises a back four and wingers, which would be fairly typical of a United side, and he looks to take the game to the opposition by pressing high.
Having worked closely with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, there is also a link to United director of football Jason Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada, both of whom were employed by City at the same time as Maresca. That may not be a “pro” per se, but it’s a link that makes an enquiry more plausible at the very least.
Cons
One concern comes to mind immediately: the comparable circumstances around his and Amorim’s respective departures just four days apart.
Amorim’s public challenges of the United board in his final days at the club were his undoing, and Maresca’s downfall reportedly came about due to the deterioration of his relationship with Chelsea’s hierarchy.
According to widespread reports, Maresca wanted a greater say in how Chelsea were run, and then his apparent flirtations with City in December seemingly didn’t help build bridges.
Given how quickly it all went south with Amorim, United might be cautious about going for another potentially volatile character in Maresca.
That personality stretched beyond private meetings and press conferences, too, even rubbing off on his team. Chelsea have often been criticised for lacking discipline, with their 140 yellow cards cards under him being the second most among Premier League teams and their six reds the joint most. Similarly, his nine cards since the start of 2024-25 is more than any other manager.
Of course, there’s also no guarantee Maresca would want to join United anyway, in an interim role or permanent position. With Guardiola supposedly considering leaving City in the summer and the Italian reportedly high on their list of possible replacements, it’s probably more likely he’ll wait until June before deciding his next move.
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