Paul Scholes reveals thoughts on Carlo Ancelotti to Man United

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The Peoples Person

·3. März 2026

Paul Scholes reveals thoughts on Carlo Ancelotti to Man United

Manchester United have seemingly turned a corner this year after Michael Carrick was named interim manager.

After Portuguese head coach Ruben Amorim was sacked, Carrick has won six out of seven league games.

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This run has seen United rise to third in the table and take control of their own fate regarding Champions League qualification for next season.

United’s form has led numerous fans to demand that Carrick be installed as permanent manager as soon as the season is over, but pundit Paul Scholes is not in agreement.

Good job

Speaking on the The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, he claimed, “if you put yourself in the owner’s shoes or whoever is making the decision, he’s putting real pressure on them to get the job. The people making that decision might have to think about it a little bit differently because I don’t think you need the most technical or talented coach.”

He claimed that at big clubs, the players know what they are doing and that what they value above all is a man manager.

Referencing his own experience as a player, he said, “if you look back to Sir Alex [Ferguson] he was never a coach really but he knew the players, he knew what the players needed and how to treat players to get the best out of them.”

He then highlighted former Real Madrid managers Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane as examples of modern-day man managers.

Referencing Carrick, Scholes stated, “I don’t know what Michael’s coaching style is like but I can imagine as a man-manager he’s very good because he’s brilliant with people and players. The question over Michael is does he have the experience? I know he’s managed in the Championship but this is obviously different.”

Perfect choice

In spite of the compliments, Scholes does not believe Carrick is the perfect choice for Manchester United as their next head coach. He claimed it is impossible to know if his former midfield partner could guide United to a Premier League title in the future, but there is one manager who could.

‘”Now the perfect one out there… Ancelotti is still out there, I know he’s with Brazil, but he’s that perfect one for Manchester United where you think he would make players feel a million dollars and he’s got the experience of winning trophies.”

He admitted there could be concern that the Italian is too old, but he continued, “the great thing someone like Ancelotti has is experience – I know that sounds obvious – but we don’t know yet how Michael Carrick will deal with going through a bit of adversity.”