Three men have made decisions on coaching Manchester United as favourite manager Eddie Howe has been told not to “go anywhere near” the club.

With results under Michael Carrick following a disappointing pattern, it appears he’s not long for the United job. The 3-0 loss to Bournemouth on Sunday followed a 4-1 loss to Como in the week, and those may be the straws to break the camel’s back.

In response to the poor results, TEAMtalk is aware Jason Wilcox has alerted the club’s board to the growing chance of an impending managerial change.

If Carrick is to be out, former Newcastle boss Howe could be coming in, with sources stating he’s Wilcox’s favourite to take the job.

But amid a suggestion from Ally McCoist that prospective playing members would rather play for Manchester City, Arsenal or Liverpool, Jeff Stelling has told talkSPORT that should be the same for managers such as Howe, too.

He said: “The same applies to managers. People talk Eddie Howe, if I’m Eddie Howe I’m not going anywhere near this. I know it’s Manchester United.”

Eddie Howe and his staff ready to join United

TEAMtalk revealed in recent days that Howe would be willing to take the United job if offered to him. The chances of that happening have now ramped up.

Sky Sports are reporting the same, stating: ‘If Carrick is to depart, Julian Nagelsmann and Eddie Howe are the two front runners to take over at Old Trafford. Both are available to start quickly, and neither would require any compensation to be paid.

‘Howe, when he resigned as Newcastle manager in July, said he wanted to take a break from football to recharge his batteries. But Sky Sports News has been told he would be interested in talking to United, should a vacancy become available.’

TEAMtalk has also been made aware that Howe’s previous coaching colleagues, Jason Tindall and Stephen Purches, are ready to follow him to Old Trafford.

There’s a sense that support from coaches who have spent a good amount of time with Howe would help him to quickly integrate his style at United.