Carrick to remain at Man United for at least the weekend

Michael Carrick is expected to remain as Manchester United head coach for Saturday's Premier League match against Chelsea.

Carrick had arrived at Carrington early on Tuesday morning with his future still up in the air after a 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday left his side 16th in the table.

The Press Association reports that training took place as usual, with Carrick and his squad being given the opportunity to turn the situation around and focus on showing a response in the next match away to Chelsea on Saturday.

Popular former Red Devils midfielder Carrick had stepped in last season to help stabilise the club following Ruben Amorim's rocky reign and his arrival in January helped inspired the side’s rise to third in the Premier League.

Carrick’s impressive stint saw him rewarded with a two-year deal to stay on as United boss. However, just five months later he found his position again under scrutiny following a chastening loss to Bournemouth which came on the back of a 4-1 defeat at Como in the Champions League.

Talks over the managerial situation followed the Bournemouth game, which continued with chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox on Monday.

Carrick headed to Carrington shortly before 2pm on Monday to watch United Under-21s take on Hull – the side that ensured their Premier League season got off to a nightmare start – in a behind-closed-doors friendly.

The head coach left the training complex just before 5pm on Monday evening, shortly after Wilcox departed, having spent around three hours at Carrington.

Carrick, whose side are without a win in eight games, was then back early on Tuesday ahead of the United players’ return for training following a day off.

Wilcox and Berrada also arrived at Carrington shortly afterwards.

Earlier in the day, for Manchester United star Wayne Rooney said the current crop of players need a "firework up their arses" and reminding what it means to play for the club .

United’s all-time leading goalscorer Rooney, who won five Premier League titles as well as the 2008 Champions League, feels the mentality of some the current squad must be called into question, along with the club’s recruitment strategy.

"The players haven’t got a leg to stand on. What’s not fair is the performances they are giving," Rooney said on the Stick to United podcast.

"I looked at the fans, you could see the pain and anger in their faces when those players are walking around the football pitch. You see (Lisandro) Martinez when (Bournemouth winger) Rayan ran round him, they are not getting to the ball, it’s so frustrating.

"I could score a goal, had ability or whatever, at least I ******* ran and put myself about as a team. These players are not doing that.

"I would love to go in that dressing room and say, 'What the **** are you all doing? What type of performances do you think this is? Do you think you deserve to wear the shirt?’ Put a ******* firework up their arses because they are not doing anything.

"We are seeing players who are numb, look like they have got no emotion, look like they don’t care. Some of them might care, some good lads who are getting dragged down. It is so frustrating to watch."

Rooney feels the squad is "absolutely a million miles away" from the level needed to challenge in the Premier League again.

"It is at best a mid-table team, but if you look at all the mid-table teams, what do they get? They get players working hard, running, tackling and I keep saying it, going back to the basics. These (United) players think they are better than what they are," he said.

"Unfortunately, what happened when Michael Carrick came in at the start is that it has given the players and the board false hope that they are good enough. He has done well, stuck together, managed somehow to finish third, then the board are thinking, ‘We are a top four team’, when in reality they are miles away from it.

"You are deluded if they think the front three are good enough. They wanted Premier League players, they have brought lads from Wolves, Brentford, who have done well, but for signings to take this Manchester United team to the next level, you are living in cuckoo land if you think they are going to achieve that."

Rooney added: "The squad is absolutely a million miles away. The worst thing for Michael Carrick, he has given the board a bit of hope when in reality, they needed a big overhaul and have done for years.

"The midfield, spending that amount on those midfielders, is absolutely crazy. I feel for Michael, he has being let down, he hasn’t been good enough, but the players have let him down massively."