Michael Carrick was sacked as Manchester United head coach on Thursday after the club dropped into the Premier League relegation zone (18th) with just one league win in 10 games (five draws, four losses) -- their worst-ever start to a league season.

A rollercoaster 4-4 draw was saved late at Old Trafford against Aston Villa at the weekend, and came after a 3-2 win from 2-0 down against Roma in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, but it was not enough to save Carrick from the sack.

United States coach Mauricio Pochettino is the favored candidate to replace Carrick, with the United hierarchy -- led by co-chairman Joel Glazer, minority owner Jim Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox -- assessing options in the coming days.

Catch up on the latest reaction to the news.