Gary Neville reserved his sharpest edge for the squad. Speaking on his podcast after the match, as reported by SPORTbible, the former United captain said senior players at Old Trafford had “downed tools” on their head coach and lost perspective entirely.

“Michael Carrick is a brilliant man. He’s a man of integrity, of credibility, of decency, of professionalism, of high-quality football and consistency and reliability,” Neville told his podcast audience.

“Some of them aren’t that professional. So I’ve got no time for them. There are a few of them that don’t go to bed at the right time, don’t eat the right things, don’t think about Manchester United every single minute of every day,” Neville added on the same show.

He accused some of the group of letting the status get to them, calling some of them “nothing” as players.

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United slip to 16th

The context behind the broadside is grim. Carrick’s team has gone eight matches without a win across all competitions, and Sunday’s defeat left Manchester United 16th in the Premier League, one point above the relegation zone. His pre-match decision to drop captain Bruno Fernandes also misfired, with Bournemouth 2-0 up by half-time before adding a third.

Neville had set the tone earlier the same afternoon on Sky Sports co-commentary. He called the game a “nightmare” for both Carrick and the two United executives sat together at the stadium, chief executive Omar Berrada and sporting director Jason Wilcox, and said responsibility lay with the players and the sporting department rather than the head coach.

“This is Groundhog Day,” Neville said on the broadcast, via SPORTbible.

Carrick’s future

Reports around Old Trafford had Carrick’s dismissal looking a matter of days rather than weeks, with Antonio Conte and Eddie Howe among the names in circulation. The club had made no public announcement by Monday afternoon.

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Carrick, pressed on his future after the final whistle, offered no certainty of his own.

“What’s next, I really do not know. But I always do what’s best for this football club and I don’t change that now,” he told reporters, via Yahoo Sports.

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