Michael Carrick can secure Man Utd manager's job by beating Liverpool - but fan favourite has a lot to learn if he is to be a long-term success at Old Trafford

The results speak for themselves. United have won eight, drawn two and lost two of their 12 matches under Carrick. The 26 points they have amassed since his first game in charge would have put them top of the Premier League had the season begun when he took charge in mid-January.

Ruben Amorim, for context, had taken 31 points from 20 league matches when he was sacked. United have scored 24 goals and conceded 14, a goal difference of 10. Amorim, again, had scored 34 and conceded 30 goals, a goal difference of four. It should also be remembered that United finished the previous campaign under the Portuguese 15th in the table, with a goal difference of minus 10.

The players seem to have a good understanding with Carrick, with the obvious caveat that they would be unlikely to tell the truth if they did not. But there does seem to be a clear improvement on his Portuguese predecessor in terms of the rapport the coach has with the squad.

"He knows how to talk to us," said Bryan Mbeumo last month. Amad Diallo added: "He’s been doing so much for the team, he has a lot of experience and he knows the club and has the DNA also. We think he’s the right man and we are really happy about what he is doing right now."

One refreshing thing about Carrick - which contrasts with Amorim calling his side the worst team in the club's history - is that he is far from satisfied with the progress he has made. He could easily point to the above improvements but after all-but securing Champions League football by beating Brentford he made it clear that it was no real achievement in his eyes given United would be pushing to win the Premier League and Champions League each year when he was a player.

"The Champions League is one thing but it’s not something that we should be over-celebrating either," he said. "We want to be challenging higher up the league and get more points. I think next season you look at it we’ve got to be in the bracket where, if we get the recruitment right and everything’s positive from now to the end of this season, there’s no ceiling of where we can reach.

"We’re in a strong position now. Come February, March, we don’t want to be adrift like we have been this year. We’ve got to be in the conversation to go and win the big trophies."

But despite his impeccable record over the last four months and him taking United back to the Champions League for the first time in three years, there remains a quiet scepticism among many United fans about Carrick’s capability for taking that next step.

And if he does get the green light from Sir Jim Ratcliffe to continue what he has started, Carrick still has a long way to go to ensure he does not go the same way as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

While the results have been good, the performances haven't always been. A sceptic could argue that the only really top displays have been in the first two games against City and Arsenal, with the latter win being helped by two stupendous long-range goals from Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha.

The victory over Tottenham benefitted from the red card to Cristian Romero, as did the comeback win over Crystal Palace when Maxence Lacroix gave away a penalty and was sent off following a controversial VAR call.

Goalkeeper Senne Lammens was the Player of the Match in the win at Everton and although Casemiro earned that accolade against Brentford, the Belgian stopper made a strong case for it.

Against Leeds the team only got going in the second half when they were down to 10 men, while against Newcastle they failed to take advantage of the Magpies having a player sent off, losing the game in a manner reminiscent of the home defeat against Everton under Amorim.

Carrick has also been accused of taking too long to react to changing situations with substitutes, particularly against West Ham. He did take a proactive approach against Brentford by bringing on Noussair Mazraoui for Amad at half-time, although it was not the type of change - one designed to shut the game down - that United fans usually like to see.

The interim has benefited from a very light fixture schedule and a fair few fans feel he has not given the team a proper identity despite the extra time on the training ground.

But a dearth of elite candidates, with Luis Enrique and Thomas Tuchel being unavailable, has led many to also accept that Carrick might be the logical choice for the job for right now. The only other names to be mentioned with any seriousness are Julian Nagelsmann, who is under contract with Germany until 2028, and Andoni Iraola.

The Basque coach is a compelling option as he is about to become a free agent and The Telegraph reported this week that he has recently emerged as a late rival for Carrick. Iraola has worked wonders with Bournemouth despite having to sell his best players each season and implemented a thrilling style of football in the process.

The danger with Iraola is that he gets swallowed up by the relentless media scrutiny at Old Trafford and that a dressing room awash with big egos does not take on his tactical ideas as much as Bournemouth and previous club Rayo Vallecano did. And if he was to fail at United as Amorim did, the decision-makers would be pilloried for not continuing with Carrick.

Jamie Carragher summed up the situation aptly. "No Premier League or Champions League rivals will be shuddering if Michael Carrick is leading Manchester United into next season," he wrote in his latest Telegraph column. "But as the United board considers its options, Carrick is the ideal choice to assume full control this summer because of what the club needs right here, right now."

The advantage United have with Carrick is that is humble enough to understand that he is not yet an elite coach and would likely accept a two-year contract without making crazy salary demands. In that respect he is the perfect fit for Ratcliffe’s low-cost vision for the club. The fact that Carrick is well liked by the fans and was a key player in one of the club’s best ever sides also doesn’t hurt, as like Solskjaer before him, he acts as a sweetener for a regime that many fans bitterly dislike.

Carrick’s steady management of the club has helpfully turned the gaze away from Ratcliffe - that is, until his next controversial interview. So even though Carrick is not offering a thrills-per-minute ride, he has at least gotten the club back on track and it is too risky to take a different route.