Alan Shearer “was pleasantly surprised by how bad Man Utd were” under Michael Carrick as they lost 2-1 to Newcastle on Wednesday in the Premier League.

After sacking Ruben Amorim in January, the Red Devils have turned around results under interim head coach Carrick, who has won six, lost one and drawn one of his first eight matches in charge.

Man Utdhave moved up to third in the Premier League tablewith Red Devils supporters now dreaming of a return to the Champions League next term.

However, Shearer isn’t convinced that Man Utd are playing much better than under Amorim after watching a “very flat” Red Devils lose against Newcastle.

Shearer told Betfred:?“Man United’s performance on Wednesday [in the 2-1 loss to Newcastle] was a bit like what we saw from then under Ruben Amorim. Other than Bruno Fernandes, they were very flat. I thought there was nothing in the forward positions.

“I know Aaron Ramsdale pulled off a couple of good saves, one with a great header, but even then, the changes that Michael Carrick tried to make didn’t work. I was pleasantly surprised by how bad Man Utd were. I was expecting more from them.

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“They are third and I genuinely don’t think they’re a good team. They have got a good chance of finishing in the Champions League places which is amazing when you think how poor some of their football has been this season.”

Many had Carrick down as a near certainty to be the new permanent manager but a report on Thursdayinsisted that the Man Utd interim boss is not the ‘frontrunner’ for the job currently.

Journalist Ben Jacobs revealed that Roberto De Zerbi, Julian Nagelsmann and Roberto Martinez are the names currently being discussed by the Man Utd hierarchy to take the position in the summer.

Man Utd legend Paul Scholes took to Instagram to have a pop at Carrickafter their defeat to Newcastle, drawing criticism from many, including former team-mate Patrice Evra.

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And Newcastle legend Shearer admits it was a “bit surprising” to see Scholes criticise ex-Man Utd team-mate Carrick in that manner.

Shearer added: “Paul Scholes said something along the lines of Manchester United being really poor in some games under Michael Carrick. They might have been poor but they’ve been getting the results.

“I guess when you play like that the other night, and they didn’t play well, you’re going to get criticised. I don’t know if there’s a friendship between Scholes and Carrick, I guess when they’re former team-mates, who fought together on the pitch, then it probably is a bit surprising.

“But we know how the world works now and I don’t suspect that would upset Michael much.”