Gerrard sends Carrick sack warning ahead of crunch Aston Villa clash

Steven Gerrard has warned Michael Carrick that he must beat Aston Villa on Sunday or Manchester United's hierarchy will pull the trigger heading into the international break.

Carrick eased the pressure with a 3-2 comeback win over Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday night. It snapped a nine-match winless run in all competitions, but Carrick knows he needs to back it up against Villa.

United come into the weekend 17th in the Premier League table, outside of the relegation on goal difference having taken just seven points from their opening nine games. It represents United's worst start to a league campaign in 40 years and has seen club chiefs identify possible replacements.

Director of football Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada have sounded out Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Antonio Conte, but have so far opted to stick by Carrick. They have held fire for now, but the looming two-week break is an obvious concern for the United boss if he can't beat Villa.

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"Sometimes a performance against a certain opposition in a certain way can give the board a little bit more belief a little bit more hope," Gerrard said on TNT Sports.

"Michael is having a tough time, and I think the next league game is crucial. I think if he can get that win, I think everyone will think this might be the few stepping stones for them to get into better form. But everyone knows what a defeat [in] the last game before an international break could do. If you lose that on the back of not winning a nine in the league, I think it could be tough for him."

Gerrard recently picked out seven United players he believes aren't up to the standard, with the club failing to provide Carrick with backing in the transfer market. The club decided to spend £155million on three central midfielders in the summer transfer window, without recruiting the left-back and striker they desperately needed.

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"They’ve had numerous managers in the last five or six years that haven’t really been able to turn that fortune around," Gerrard added. "I think [Jose] Mourinho came the closest finished second in the league and obviously won in Europe, so it’s a difficult job at the moment because I don’t think it’s just a problem with the manager or the coach and stuff.

"I think it’s a group of players that have been really inconsistent that haven’t given this club enough, and there’s also a lot of problems from above as well. I said recently that Manchester United have got numerous problems not just one and I don’t think Michael Carrick’s the biggest problem there."