Roy Keane has strongly criticised Manchester United’s recent coaching reshuffle, questioning why Darren Fletcher and Jonny Evans received key roles and accusing Fletcher of still leaning on Sir Alex Ferguson
for minor decisions, even as Michael Carrick steps in as interim head coach until the end of the season.
Manchester United confirmed earlier in the week that Carrick would take charge on a short-term basis, with the former midfielder returning to the dugout for the rest of the campaign as the club responds to a troubled season across all competitions.
Following Carrick’s appointment, Manchester United announced that Evans, former Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate and Steve Holland, who previously worked as England’s assistant manager under Gareth Southgate, would form the new backroom team supporting Carrick for the remaining months of the season.
Evans is back at Manchester United only weeks after leaving his post as the club’s head of loans and pathways, making what Keane described as a sharp elevation from an administrative pathway role to first-team coach, a development that drew pointed questions about how that leap was justified.
Before Carrick’s return, Darren Fletcher stepped in as caretaker following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal, overseeing a 2-2 Premier League draw with Burnley and a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup third round, results that deepened scrutiny of Manchester United’s direction this season.
The loss to Brighton meant Manchester United went out of both domestic cups at the first stage for the first time since the 1981-82 season, having already been eliminated from the EFL Cup earlier in the campaign by Grimsby Town, underlining the scale of the team’s regression.
After that brief spell in charge, Fletcher reportedly turned down an invitation to remain on Carrick’s senior coaching staff and will instead move back to his earlier role overseeing Manchester United’s under-18 side, restoring the academy position held before the caretaker appointment.
Roy Keane’s criticism of Manchester United appointments
In a heated discussion with Gary Neville on The Overlap, Keane targeted Evans’ rapid return and promotion, asking how Manchester United had concluded that a recent loans manager should now operate as a first-team coach with major influence on the dressing room.
In a sensational exchange with Gary Neville on The Overlap, Keane said: "What has Jonny Evans done to be coach of Manchester United's first team? Jonny Evans left Man Utd four or five weeks ago as a loan manager and Fletch gives him a jobstrangely enough. Fletch has two games, goes, and then Carrick gives him a job. it's great, isn't it? He left that job four weeks ago, and now he comes back working with the first team. That's a big step up. For the last few weeks, for Burnley away and Brighton at home, Fletch comes in, he knows the club, he worked at the academy. He probably knows the girl in the canteen, he rings Ferguson up to ask him what socks he should wear in the morning. How did those two games go?"
Keane argued that Manchester United continue to look back towards the Ferguson era instead of developing a clear modern structure, using Fletcher’s close links to the club and reliance on Ferguson’s guidance, even for light-hearted details, as an example of that ongoing dependence.
40 - Following their early exits in the League Cup and FA Cup, Manchester United are now guaranteed to play just 40 games in all competitions this season, their fewest since the 1914-15 campaign (39). Brief. pic.twitter.com/bPz9G68GFhOptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 12, 2026
Statistics underline the scale of Manchester United’s difficult season, with the club set to play only 40 matches in all competitions, their lowest total since the 1914-15 campaign, a consequence of those early exits in both the League Cup and the FA Cup.
Carrick’s first match as interim manager of Manchester United is at Old Trafford against rivals Manchester City on Saturday, and Carrick returns to the touchline having previously overseen two wins and one draw during a short caretaker stint in 2021, offering some evidence of stability in challenging circumstances.
