Michael Carrick gives Man Utd what they need - his plan is what Ruben Amorim couldn't see

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Considering he objects to the United Kingdom being ‘colonised by immigrants’, it is a touch ironic that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is having to set aside the best part of £16million to pay off a small group of foreign workers. According to Manchester United ’s latest financial figures, Ruben Amorim and his backroom staff could be due £15.9m after being dismissed by Manchester United.

This type of figure is commonplace in elite football but it should not make it any less bewildering. Almost £16million as a thank you to a coach and his mates who thought Kobbie Mainoo was not a player.

You wonder what the long-serving, everyday staff that Ratcliffe made redundant on basic terms think when they read about the fortunes being pocketed by Amorim and his friends. It is not Amorim’s fault. If a club is daft enough to hand out the type of deal that provides this much compensation, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

But it does make you wonder if, in elite football, the managerial position - or head coach, if you prefer - is not over-hyped. Michael Carrick has come in and done a fantastic job. But a very simple job.

He has picked a team that most people would pick and stuck with it. Round pegs, round holes, a pretty simple tactical blueprint.

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His substitutions have been predictable - almost as predictable as his pre-match and post-match comments. He goes to watch the youth teams, keeps relatively composed in the technical area and does not go around beating his chest after his team has won a match.

After a game, the players are given a day off. All simple, nice stuff. And this is exactly what Manchester United needs. Initially, it was natural to think of this short-term contract as a trial period for Carrick - a trial period with a simple target.

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Qualify for the Champions League and keep the job, fail to qualify for the Champions League and lose the job. But over half a dozen games, Carrick has established himself - in a very non-demonstrative way - as the ideal man for the long-term role.

As it happens, Champions League qualification should be achieved. United will go into third place if they beat Crystal Palace today and, considering their light workload between now and the end of the season, they should stay there. Carrick has a very healthy squad, a very expensively-assembled squad, a very talented squad. He just needs to send them out in a formation with which they are comfortable and enjoy the results.

Again, it really is simple stuff. It is not £15.9million stuff. There is a school of thought that suggests Carrick, after failing to get Middlesbrough promoted to the Premier League, is fortunate to be in this position and that he will be even more fortunate to get the job for next season.

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But with each uneventful, routine day, he is actually putting himself in a position of bargaining strength. Amorim caused a lot of expensive chaos. Carrick is causing a lot of inexpensive normality.

The party line from Old Trafford will be that a thorough process will be undertaken when it comes to identifying the next long-term manager (however long-term that may be). But the man most suitable for the job is there, in plain sight. No hype, no drama, exactly what Manchester United need.

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