Manchester United's limp defeat at home to Leeds is understood to have dealt a major blow to Michael Carrick's hopes of landing the head coach role on a permanent basis.
Carrick, appointed until the end of the season in January following the sacking of Ruben Amorim, had impressed the United hierarchy with six wins and a draw in his first seven games in charge.
But a meagre haul of four points from a possible 12 in United's last four Premier League games, culminating in Monday's insipid 2-1 loss at Old Trafford, has raised fresh doubts over Carrick's chances of being in charge next season.
Although Carrick has made an impressive start since being appointed, taking United up to third in the table and in the hunt for a Champions League place, that goal is now under threat with just six games left to play this season, following the defeat to Leeds.
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Fourth-placed Aston Villa are level on points with United, while arch rivals Liverpool are just three adrift in fifth position, with the two biggest sides in English football meeting at Old Trafford on May 3 in a huge encounter that could have a huge bearing on their respective Champions League fates.
Lack of intensity a concern
Before that, Carrick and his players travel to sixth-placed Chelsea on Saturday night, with the United hierarchy understood to now have serious reservations about making the club's decorated former midfielder their permanent boss after the team's recent wobbles.
While Carrick bemoaned the decision of referee Paul Tierney to send off Lisandro Martinez for pulling at the hair of Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, there was no escaping the fact United lost because of a woefully sub-par performance from their team, not an officiating injustice.
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It is understood there was huge concern among the United hierarchy at the lack of intensity and purpose in the team's display, given they had the luxury of three weeks to prepare for the game against opponents who had won just once away all season – against second-from-bottom Wolves.
With a 24-day break between games, Carrick took his United squad away to Dublin for a restorative 72-hour training camp, but the mini-break did them little good, with the home side booed off at half-time after trailing 2-0.
Although United got a goal back through Casemiro, it was comfortably their worst performance under Carrick, one which has refocused minds in the boardroom ahead of a huge summer for the club, in terms of the appointment of their next manager and player recruitment.
United assessing seven manager candidates
While United were always continuing to assess other candidates for the head coach role, despite Carrick's positive impact, that process is understood to have gathered pace in recent days, with an acknowledgment among the hierarchy that they cannot get wrong the next appointment.
Having triggered Erik ten Hag's contract extension in 2024, only to sack him nine games into the new season, then hiring and firing Amorim at a cost of nearly £30million, United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox are under huge pressure to ensure their next manager is the right appointment.
Although it was a different regime in charge, Ratcliffe and his team of executives are said to be wary of falling into the same sentimental trap as predecessor Ed Woodward, who appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer manager on a permanent basis, after a whirlwind start to his interim stint in charge.
Although Solskjaer guided United to second place in the Premier League and a Europa League final, which they lost on penalties to Unai Emery's Villarreal, his appointment was always blighted by his emotional attachment to the club, and there is determination not to repeat that mistake with Carrick, who made 464 appearances for the Red Devils over a glittering 12-year spell.
That is why United are still assessing candidates including Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann, Aston Villa head coach Emery and Crystal Palace's Oliver Glasner, while Andoni Iraola is also under consideration, following the news he - like Glasner at Palace - is leaving Bournemouth at the end of the season, although he is the favourite to take over at Athletic Bilbao.
Other candidates who were on United's radar, including England head coach Thomas Tuchel and Brazil boss Carlo Anceloti, have signed contract extensions with their respective national teams, ruling them out of taking over at Old Trafford this summer.
But Carrick's trial to land the United job on a permanent basis has hit a stumbling block, which is why he cannot afford a repeat of the Leeds debacle next up at Chelsea or in his remaining five games after that, with a host of more experienced managers being assessed by his bosses for the role he is so desperate to land.
David McDonnell