Michael Carrick: Manchester United boss 'expects' to stay on despite club sitting in relegation zone after Aston Villa draw

Under-pressure Manchester United boss Michael Carrick "expects" to stay on despite his side sitting in the relegation zone after Sunday's dramatic 4-4 home draw against Aston Villa.

Man Utd scored twice in stoppage time to rescue an unlikely point against Villa, but the draw leaves Carrick's side third-bottom and a point from safety.

Man Utd's 18th-place position is their lowest after 10 top-flight games since 1986/87, when they were 20th.

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The draw against Villa extends Man Utd's winless run in the league to eight games - a club record in the Premier League era - raising further doubts over Carrick's position heading into the two-week November international break.

When questioned on his future by Sky Sports' Patrick Davison, Carrick engaged in a tetchy back-and-forth, insisting he would remain in charge.

PD: "What do you expect to happen over the next few weeks? If you thought walking away was the best thing, you'd probably do it."

MC: "It's not going to happen, no."

PD: "What do you expect to happen? Clearly there's going to be conversation?

MC: "Is there?"

PD: "You would assume so, right?

MC: "Would you?"

PD: "What do you think, Michael?"

MC: "You're telling me what you think, aren't you?"

PD: "I'm asking you what you think? What do you expect to happen?"

MC: "We understand the situation; we haven't won enough games. But I expect to move forward and keep working on things we've been working on, showing a lot of the good in the game today, tighten up on a few mistakes and win football matches."

Then, speaking in his post-match press conference, Carrick expressed confidence his side could still turn things around this season.

"One hundred per cent," he said. "I think there's more than enough. Goals change games and we've got to deal with it and it's something we have to improve on drastically. But there's more than enough, we're just making it too difficult for ourselves at the moment in certain times…

"I'm quite clear with what direction the club needs to go in. We've just got to win games."

"Football is about moments, football is about what happens in both boxes in the end," Carrick added.

"Take (away) the moments and the totally avoidable goals we've given away, I actually thought we played pretty well, we were the better team for the most part and I'm disappointed we haven't won the game."

Neville: 'Ownership don't have a clue what to do' on Carrick

Sky Sports' Gary Neville on NBC:

"You can keep changing the manager and thinking that's going to be the answer. But this has been proven now over eight managers in 12 years - that's not the answer.

"Michael could leave, Michael might stay, we don't know. The ownership don't have a clue what to do.

"It's rinse and repeat. (Ruben) Amorim, (Erik) Ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Carrick, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, David Moyes, Ralf Rangnick - some of them are world-class managers who have had success; there are a lot of promising young managers there, ex-players who know the club as well.

"None of it has worked because if you recruit badly, if you've got a poor performance department, a poor recruitment department, you've not got leadership that is strong right through the spine of the football club, you will fail.

"Every organisation in the world will fail if you've not got an aligned leadership from top to bottom - your board and your ownership right the way through to the person who is stood on the pitch trying to play football.

"There are real issues within that football club; you've got people doing those jobs who have never done those jobs before in senior positions."

Keane: 'Politician' Carrick 'better get moving' on improvements

Sky Sports' Roy Keane:

"It's obviously difficult for the manager. Under pressure, no doubt. He talks a lot but doesn't say much. I don't know if that's a tactic. Like a politician.

"He keeps saying we need to tighten up and there's things we need to work on, but they better get moving on that.

"It's the worst start in how many years; all these stats aren't very good. If you keep giving up goals and chances, it's just going to continue.

"What are we expecting to change over the next few weeks and months? What are they working on? They need to do a lot better than that.

"I admire people who are maybe casual. I wish I was casual like that! I see Carrick, and he's like, 'We just have to tighten up'. I'm going, 'Tighten up? You should be banging heads!'

"We're all different, but put it this way, they're going to Liverpool in a few weeks. How many chances are Liverpool going to get? I don't think this is a top Liverpool team, but do you believe United are going to roll their sleeves up and get a clean sheet? Dig in deep? Be hard to beat? Start quick? Well, good luck with that one.

"I don't see that as an honest dressing room. The really top players put demands on each other. They all seem to be tiptoeing around each other.

"They are certainly lacking leaders in the dressing room."

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