And if this was the final chapter of Carrick’s tenure, he’ll be leaving with egg on his face, as he backed his players to get a result before the Bournemouth mauling. Speaking ahead of the Sunday afternoon outing, Carrick promised the fans they’d be ‘much different’ compared to the midweek Como defeat.

He said: “We will be very different team against Bournemouth. I definitely trust my players, 100% sure. We have to be a different team on Sunday”.

It’s difficult to see how Carrick survives this latest setback, even if the United supporters were still chanting his name at 3-0 down. However, even if they do make a change in the managerial department, old habits die hard, and United's performance should be ringing alarm bells for any prospective candidates.

If this set of players can’t put on a performance for a manager beloved and backed by the United faithful as much as Carrick is, what hope does the next guy in the door have?

United’s next outing is against Chelsea in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, and while Carrick insists he hasn’t been told he’ll be gone by then, Jamie Carragher expects the 20-time champions to pull the plug. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "Manchester United need to make that [managerial] change tonight, they need to make that decision.

"The fans have taken the side of Michael Carrick and it's not about him being the manager, it's about him being a huge figure in United's history.

"Those players have done nothing compared to teams of the past so Michael Carrick is always going to win that fight with Bruno Fernandes, and rightly so, no matter how talented a player he is.

"But also, Manchester United as a football club, one of the biggest in the world, are 16th in the Premier League right now and that can't continue. Michael Carrick needs to be relieved of his duties tonight - not just for the good of Manchester United, but also for the good of Michael Carrick.

Adding: "It's become untenable. Carrick wants to be changed. He doesn't want to be sat in the dugout with those players.

"Can you imagine going into the training ground tomorrow with Bruno Fernandes after not bringing him on? It's a rancid dressing room. He wants to be put out of his misery tonight."