Time to get Carr started

MANCHESTER UNITED legend Michael Carrick has proved himself a capable manager at Middlesbrough so far.

But will he stick around for another season? Indeed, should he commit to the new deal which is currently being discussed?

Carrick is one of the more successful members of England’s so-called “Golden Generation” of players when it comes to transferring into management.

He coached with Jose Mourinho, and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – and won two of his three games as caretaker boss at Old Trafford.

At Boro, he shot them up the table after taking over from Chris Wilder last season and into the top six. This season they reached a Carabao Cup semi-finals – but the 6-1 away defeat at Chelsea was a tactical disaster.

Carrick’s Boro deal has a year and a bit to run, and positive talks have been held over an extension, with Carrick insisting he loves it on Teesside.

However, timing is everything in management and to keep his career on the up, Carrick has to weigh up the chance he has of mounting a promotion charge with the current Boro squad.

My view would be it is severely limited. It is lumpen, lacking pace and there doesn’t seem to be much of a big budget to compete.

There are even cutbacks behind the scenes unfolding ahead of the summer to key departments. While young striker Morgan Rogers was sold to Villa at the start of the year.

Pressure was building on Carrick before the 3-1 win over Norwich in midweek. But that came after Boro were hammered in the first half-hour before the Canaries had a player sent off.

There’s a dour, gritty realism that comes across in his press conferences that probably rightly refuses to talk up the mid-table situation.

Carrick might be better off seeking a fresh challenge elsewhere to build on his solid start.