Michael Carrick's chances of getting the Manchester United job on a permanent basis appear to have received a small boost - if comments by Wayne Rooney are anything to go by.
Carrick took interim charge of United in January, replacing Ruben Amorim at the helm.
United won six of their opening seven matches under the former midfielder, propelling themselves into the Champions League qualification places.
A 2-1 defeat against 10-man Newcastle last Thursday was their first real blip under Carrick, with Sunday's home Premier League clash against Aston Villa likely to be a major indicator of where exactly United are currently at in terms of performance levels and mentality.
Advert
It was reported that, when Carrick was appointed as interim manager, the United hierarchy had put plans in place to appoint a new head coach on a permanent basis in the summer.,
Oliver Glasner, Andoni Iraola and Roberto De Zerbi are currently among the favourites to take charge.
Some United fans, meanwhile, interpreted the appointment of former England coach Steve Holland as Carrick's assistant to be a sign that the club may be planning for the arrival of Gareth Southgate.
BBC Sport reported earlier in March that Carrick is now firmly on the shortlist to be appointed as the next manager - though whether he is the favourite remains to be seen.
Rooney, though, has given an insight into one potential aspect of United's decision-making on the latest episode of 'The Wayne Rooney Podcast'.
He says that 'everyone' at the club 'loves' Carrick, explaining: "Everyone's scared, aren't they? Gary Neville, or Roy [Keane], or Scholesy as well, they want that manager like a Carlo Ancelotti or a Luis Enrique.
"I think people who have been at the club, they're just scared.
"Everyone at Manchester United loves Michael Carrick. I don't think anyone's had a bad word to say about him.
"They're just scared that it doesn't go right. He's done an unbelievable job."
Another of Carrick's former team-mates, Michael Owen, added: "There's a lot of English managers doing quite well at the moment.
"Carrick's doing well. Lampard's doing well. Rosenior's got the Chelsea job.
"All of sudden, there's some young English managers in the game.
"You look at Ruben Amorim. You give somebody a manager's job on the back of doing well in their country for a very short period of time. There's managers who would do equally as well if they went out and managed in other countries.
"But it's impossible for a young English manager to come in and do an Amorim type of thing in their country. One, you'll never get a chance.
"But he [Carrick] has got miles more chance at managing at a level he knows."
Topics: Wayne Rooney, Manchester United, Football, Premier League, Michael Carrick
Ryan Smart