Michael Carrick and his wife Lisa have been subject to comments from Roy Keane(Image: Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
Roy Keane has never shied away from voicing his opinions on Michael Carrick – or his wife for that matter. The 44-year-old was named Manchester United interim head coach earlier this month after Ruben Amorim’s dismissal.
It’s been a remarkable beginning for the former England midfielder, who secured impressive wins against Manchester City and Arsenal in his opening two matches at the helm. Whilst some have suggested that Carrick’s swift and positive influence on the team could put him in contention for the permanent role should the strong results persist, Keane hasn’t joined that particular camp.
The former United skipper controversially declared following the 3-2 triumph over Arsenal that he wouldn’t hand Carrick the permanent position even if he won the remaining 15 fixtures of the campaign.
He maintained that despite the boost in confidence that Carrick has brought, United need a “bigger and better manager” to take charge of the football club. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “Two great performances but anyone can win two games.
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“Even if they do get into fourth, I still wouldn’t be convinced he’s the man for the job. Absolutely not. They need a bigger and better manager. But he has got the opportunity and what a chance for him, and you know what, he’s taking it.”
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Despite his earlier comments casting doubt on Carrick’s credentials for the permanent role, he appears to have backtracked on those previous statements and now insists he wants him to land the position.
Speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast earlier this week, Keane admitted: “I hope they give it [the permanent job] to him. I hope they give it to him in the summer.”
Roy Keane said appointing Michael Carrick as the permanent Manchester United boss would be the wrong decision(Image: Sky Sports)
However, he clarified that whilst he hopes Carrick gets the promotion, he believes it would be the wrong call from the United hierarchy. Speaking to Gary Neville, Keane added: “I don’t think it’s the right decision, good luck with it.
“Yeah, but, I’m sticking to my guns. I’ve said my piece, I think that he’s got the job, and if he gets it in the summer then you go ‘listen, good luck to him’, but as a caretaker manager, it’s a different animal to being manager of United trying to win league titles over the next two, three, four, five years, whatever it might be.
“I think you can get a better manager than Carrick, absolutely. But I think he’s doing a good job, perfect timing for him, and even if he doesn’t get the United job, these results a bit like Ruud [Van Nistelrooy], he can get another job, probably another Premiership manager.”
Michael Carrick has enjoyed a superb start to life at Old Trafford(Image: Getty)
It wasn’t only Carrick who came under fire from Keane’s remarks, but his wife Lisa as well, who became the target of a barb from the Republic of Ireland legend. The 54-year-old accused Lisa of having a “big mouth”, saying: “His wife can always come in [if Carrick doesn’t do well], cause she’s got a bit of a big mouth sometimes. She’s probably doing the team talk.”
The remarks reignited a long-standing row between the two dating back to 2014, when Keane had directed his criticism towards Carrick. Following United’s 2-0 loss to Olympiacos, Carrick gave an interview which Keane subsequently tore apart on television.
The pundit said: “That interview was just like the performance, flat. He should say a bit more, have a bit more urgency, even in the interview.” Lisa didn’t respond well to Keane’s comments, taking to Twitter, now X, to write: “Roy Keane what a ****, says anything to provoke a reaction.”
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She subsequently expressed remorse for her message by removing it and added: “Deleted my tweet… Emotions got the better of me.” Carrick himself has also been vocal about Keane’s judgements, maintaining that he ‘isn’t bothered’ by what Keane and other ex-United players turned pundits have to say.
“They’re not putting more pressure on me,” Carrick said ahead of the Manchester derby. “I don’t feel that. There are plenty of opinions around, some positive, some not too much. It’s totally irrelevant in terms of what I focus on.
“There’s a lot that can be said, it’s the way of the world. I’m not going to pay too much attention to that. For me, the players and staff, we focus on how we’re going to succeed.” When questioned directly about Keane, Carrick added: “It didn’t bother me.”