Gary Neville believes Manchester United must continue searching for a permanent head coach despite Michael Carrick enjoying an unbeaten run as interim manager.
Carrick, who previously starred in midfield for United, stepped into the role at Old Trafford after Ruben Amorim was dismissed in January. Since then, he has guided the club to five victories and one draw from his opening six matches in charge.
The latest success came with a narrow 1-0 triumph away at Everton, where Benjamin Sesko scored the decisive goal to lift the Red Devils back into the Premier League’s top four.
Despite those encouraging results, Neville stressed that United should still explore alternative managerial options ahead of next season.
"Manchester United have to be looking at other managers because you never know how results will turn out,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
"But developments like Thomas Tuchel extending his deal with England reduce the pool of available candidates for United, and that doesn’t hurt Michael’s prospects.
"If he manages to qualify United for the Champions League, there will be strong pressure for him to get the job permanently. I’m not opposed to that — I care deeply about him — but I still think United should target the highest-quality manager possible.
"They have already taken risks with younger and less experienced appointments. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned as a former player and, in the end, that approach didn’t succeed. So reducing risk as much as possible feels like the smartest decision."
United currently occupy fourth place in the league standings following their win on Merseyside, holding a three-point cushion over Chelsea and Liverpool.
They are also just five points behind Aston Villa in third place as they push to secure qualification for next season’s Champions League.
