Man Utd can move step closer to finding Erik ten Hag’s replacement today

Manchester United fans may get a glimpse into the future this afternoon when former team-mates Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney face off against one another in opposite sides of the dugout. Both ex-England internationals have made it clear that they’re hoping to one day move up the football ladder and into the promised land of the Premier League.

Their short-term solution to achieving that will be to get promotion with either Middlesbrough or Birmingham City. But the long-term for both coaches will be to take the hot seat at Old Trafford.

Carrick has already held that position – albeit on an interim basis after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked. He’s since admitted that he needed to leave United to try and progress his career and he’s impressed since taking over at Middlesbrough, just missing out on the play-offs last year.

The position is his first full-time managerial role in professional football, but his opposite number today has already had vast experience in the dugout. Rooney first stepped into management while he was still playing at Derby and stayed in charge for two years before leaving after they were relegated to League One.

He then opted for a different challenge in the MLS with DC United before returning to English football this month as Birmingham City’s new manager. His first match back on English soil now comes up against Carrick, the very man he may one day be in competition with for the United job.

The two remain close friends, but Rooney insists that won’t be the case once the game gets underway today. “Michael is a good friend of mine and I will shake his hand before and after the game but I want to beat him,” Rooney said.

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“He will tell you the same. We have a lot of respect for each other but we are both winners. He is a very intelligent person. I spoke to him before he went to Middlesbrough last year, before he moved there.

“I felt it would be a really good challenge for him and he has done a really good job.” Erik ten Hag’s position may be safe for now with both Carrick and Rooney facing a long road to prove themselves as worth candidates.

But United have proven in the past that they’re willing to give former players a chance at the helm. And both Rooney and Carrick will fancy their chances if they’re able to impress with Birmingham City and Middlesbrough respectively.

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