'Hopefully Michael Carrick will be our Zinedine Zidane'

[BBC]

Is Michael Carrick experienced enough to handle Manchester United on a full-time basis?

Carrick came in when the clear objective was Champions League football in a season in which quite a few of the competitors for Champions League football have dropped off.

I think Ruben Amorim made it really easy for Carrick to come in and look like he's doing a fantastic job - and I'm not taking anything away from Carrick if he gets the job.

He put the best player in the Premier League in Bruno Fernandes in his best position - that number 10 role - and he got the best out of the players he's got. That does deserve some sort of reward.

But can he do it after big money has been spent this summer on some serious signings and the pressure mounts on you? You've also got multiple games per week, you've got Champions League football, you've got cup competitions. Has he got the experience to do it at that top, top level?

I think Carrick has [but] my top option would have been Andoni Iraola.

What he's done with Bournemouth is nothing short of sensational. He has a fantastic style of play. He's clearly got great management skills, because his squad gets ripped from him every season and top players get ripped from him after he's built them up and got the best out of them.

The way he makes different sets of players run for him tirelessly, press for him tirelessly and go again and again, on a minuscule budget, amazes me. Iraola is an absolute coup for anyone who manages to go and get him.

Manchester United have decided to not go down that road. The risk with him is it is a mammoth jump from Bournemouth to Manchester United.

Carrick, as a player and as manager, has proved he can handle that pressure. There's not that many top, elite candidates available and I think Carrick has benefited from that - and I wish him all the best if he gets the United job.