Man Utd face interim head coach dilemma as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick approached with permanent appointment set for summer
Sky Sports News football correspondent Rob Dorsett pens his latest thoughts on Man Utd's head coach search; club have approached Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick over interim roles as they wait for more big names to become available in the summer
Wednesday 7 January 2026 16:50, UK
Manchester United want a new coaching team in place in time for the build-up to the Manchester derby on January 17, live on Sky Sports.
Darren Fletcher's first game in charge against Burnley has meant a temporary halt to the active talks with candidates as everyone at the club focuses on that match, but I'd expect things to accelerate towards the back end of this week.
Jason Wilcox, the club's director of football, was key in the decision to sack Ruben Amorim, and is leading the search for his successor - both in the short and the long term.
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick to have further talks
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So far, he has held only informal talks with a number of candidates, including the two primary targets for an interim role, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick. Much has yet to be decided about:
- How (and if) the two can work together
- Whether one (probably Solskjaer) will be given seniority
- Whether Fletcher will still have a role with the first team
- When the new coaching team will take up the reigns
- Whether United choose someone else entirely
It is clear that United prefer the idea of appointing an interim coaching team for the remainder of this season, to allow a more thorough process of due diligence on the greater number of big names who are more likely to be available in the summer (think Oliver Glasner, Marco Silva, Andoni Iraola, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann and Roberto De Zerbi). But the timing of when that interim takes charge is a vital and difficult decision.
While other top clubs might consider playing a changed team in this weekend's FA Cup third round to prioritise their Premier League campaigns, the competition is really important for Manchester United - who host Brighton on Sunday.
For a start, it is their only realistic chance of silverware, and a route into European football next season. But it is also the only other competition they are involved with.
United's elite players are attuned to a hectic schedule of perennial weekend and mid-week matches. When the fixture calendar is much more sparse than that, it can be discombobulating.
The extra games United would gain from a cup run could prove very important for the rest of their season, as the new head coach (or coaches) try to bed-in their tactical system, and also get some much-needed game-time for the wider squad.
If it is Solskjaer who takes over, his first spell in charge in 2021 saw him predominantly go with a 4-2-3-1 formation, which this current United squad has - famously - rarely used.
Finding successful partnerships in the new system, working out which players are best in which positions, maybe re-integrating Kobbie Mainoo into the starting XI - all those things would be easier with the extra matches a cup run would bring.
So, Sunday is not a game that United can take lightly. And part of their decision about the coaching quandary will be dictated by what is best for the team at that stage.
Is it best to leave Fletcher in charge at Old Trafford for the tie, or better to bring the new man (or men) in at the first opportunity? A thorough assessment of the game against Burnley will be required.
In the background, of course, is the much more significant process of deciding who should be the head coach going forward.
After paying around £10m in severance to Amorim and his staff, United will again want to try to avoid a big compensation bill for whomever they employ next.
That is at least part of their thinking about why it is best to kick the can down the road, and postpone the big appointment until the summer.
