The 51-year-old had written on an Instagram story: “Michael definitely has something special… because United have played s----- in the last four games… goodnight.” Many interpreted the comment as an unnecessary criticism of Carrick, who has otherwise impressed since taking over from Ruben Amorim earlier this year, drawing criticism from the likes of Patrice Evra.

On The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Scholes insisted there is no ill feeling between the two United greats. He said, “It wasn’t my intention to offend Michael at all. Michael is one of the nicest people in football; he’d be the last person I’d want to offend. I messaged Michael anyway. I went straight to him and said, ‘Look, it wasn’t my intention to upset you.’ I didn’t think it was necessary anyway, and he told me himself that it hadn’t upset him.”

Scholes believes the public reaction blew the situation out of proportion and misinterpreted what he meant about Manchester United’s recent performances. “I think people have taken it the wrong way as to what I meant,” Scholes added. “All I was saying was I don’t think they’ve played that well in the last four games, and he’s still getting results.”

The former midfielder explained his comments were intended to highlight Carrick’s ability to find a way to win even when the team isn’t at its best. “We had the best manager in the world, and he always said sometimes you need a bit of luck,” the former England international noted, reflecting on his time with Sir Alex Ferguson. “So with sendings-off and things happening in games, you need a little bit of luck sometimes; that’s all I meant.”

Despite the winning run ending at St James’ Park, Carrick is credited with steadying the ship at Old Trafford. However, the 2-1 loss to 10-man Newcastle left the interim coach as frustrated as his old midfield partner, as he was disappointed during his post-match media duties in the northeast.

Carrick himself refused to make excuses for the performance that prompted Scholes’ viral post. He said, “We’re not happy with the way we played the game. The way it panned out, a lot was down to us, but credit has to go to Newcastle. We put ourselves in a position where we felt we should push on. We didn’t, to be honest, so we’re really disappointed. I don’t think it was because of the 10 men; we just didn’t play well enough, and we can’t make excuses.”

The defeat remains the only major blemish on Carrick’s tenure since he succeeded Amorim in mid-January. With the air now cleared between the two Class of ’92 legends, attention returns to United’s attempts to climb the Premier League table under Carrick’s guidance, as the club weighs its long-term managerial options following a turbulent season.

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