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Jose Mourinho has fired a dig at Manchester United after they appointed Michael Carrick as their new interim manager. Carrick, 44, has been given the job on a temporary basis after the Red Devils sacked Ruben Amorim earlier this month.

His only previously managerial experience came at Middlesbrough, where he spent just under three years and reached the Championship play-offs in his first season. Carrick was also an assistant at United under both Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

After hanging up his boots in the summer of 2018, the ex-midfielder was welcomed into Mourinho's coaching staff. They worked alongside each other for six months before Mourinho was sacked.

Despite his connection with Carrick, the current Benfica boss has admitted 'surprise' at United's decision to appoint him. Mourinho argues that more experienced managers should be given the most high-profile jobs.

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After Benfica lost 2-0 away Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, the 62-year-old said: "For me, it is a surprise when coaches with no history and no work done have the opportunity to coach the most important teams in the world; this is the real surprise.

"When [AC] Milan takes [Max] Allegri, when Juventus takes [Luciano] Spalletti or when Roma chooses [Gian Piero] Gasperini, these are never surprises."

Carrick has until May to convince the United hierarchy that he's the man for the long term. The five-time Premier League winner got off to the perfect start on Saturday.

Will Michael Carrick get the Manchester United job permanently? Give us your prediction in the comments section.

United produced a brilliant performance to beat Manchester City 2-0, boosting their hopes of finishing in the top five. Carrick's next assignment is a trip to league leaders Arsenal, who he notably beat during a three-game spell as caretaker after Solskjaer was dismissed in 2021.

"It was a very special day but I'm not getting carried away," Carrick affirmed after post-match. "It's one game and it's really important we don't get carried away. It needs to be a regular feeling, that level of performance needs to be consistently what we're getting.

"It's a fantastic result and there is an element of soaking it up and enjoying it but it's definitely not enough and never enough. If you look at the result, we had three days to work on it and we've got to keep building on that."

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