Michael Carrick offered Man Utd lifeline by Sir Alex Ferguson's former assistant

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Sir Alex Ferguson's former right-hand man Rene Meulensteen has offered to share his expertise with Michael Carrick during his stint as Manchester United's interim boss. The 44-year-old Carrick was handed the reins this week, stepping in just over a week after Ruben Amorim's departure.

Following United's FA Cup exit during Darren Fletcher's brief caretaker spell , Carrick will now lead the Red Devils through their remaining Premier League fixtures this season. His mission is to secure European football whilst the club hunts for a permanent head coach.

With United sitting as close to 12th as they are fourth place, there's precious little room for mistakes. Meulensteen, who served as Ferguson's assistant from 2008 to 2013, has made it clear he's ready to offer Carrick support over the phone should he require it over the next few months.

Speaking to Casinostugan , the ex-Fulham boss said: "It's 12 and a half years since I left United. So many managers have come and gone and Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] has been there, and there's never been any talks, so I don't really think about it.

"Those 12 and a half years are a long time. So many things have changed. What we had under Sir Alex was unique. You had the most successful manager in the history of English football and everything was done a certain way and we played with a style and all that is gone now.

"Everything is different. The players are different. The environment is different. There are different roles.

"You have no idea what kind of impact you could have. Obviously, if Michael Carrick or someone else rang me, I'd pick up the phone. Of course you would, wouldn't you!"

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Carrick takes charge of a United side languishing in seventh place in the Premier League standings, three points adrift of the Champions League spots. The former midfielder faces a daunting baptism of fire in his second caretaker spell, kicking off with a Manchester derby at Old Trafford, followed by a trip to table-toppers Arsenal .

When questioned about what the ex-England star needs to prioritise, Meulensteen stressed that Carrick must swiftly establish his tactical approach. The Dutchman added: "There's a lot of different players at United at this moment of time so you have to sort of rebuild a few things again.

"Amorim was trying to mould them into a system that never really worked. That's a challenge for Michael now to set them up in a system that suits the players.

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"Everybody knows he has taken the job as the interim manager all the way up to the summer. So we will have to wait and see before we look beyond what Manchester United are going to do then.

"Can Carrick do enough to remain as the permanent manager like Solskjaer did when he was brought in as caretaker? It could happen because let's assume he goes on an unbelievable, unbeaten run and secures top-four, gets Champions League football, and they've got nothing else to worry about.

"At this moment in time, all they need to do is make sure that they win as many games in the Premier League as they possibly can, but I think what people will also look at is the way they are going to play under Michael. And his style of play."

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