The players have spoken, and they want Michael Carrick to stay. Discussions between the Manchester United interim manager and the club's hierarchy over a full-time position are imminent - and they're expected to be positive.
Multiple players, including Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, and Harry Maguire, have told the board directly: give Carrick the job. And after guiding United to Champions League qualification, it's hard to argue with them.
This is what stability looks like. This is what happens when you give a club legend a chance and he delivers results.
Carrick knows Manchester United. He bled red for years as a player, won everything there was to win, and learned under Sir Alex Ferguson himself. He's not some outsider trying to impose a foreign philosophy - he is the club.
The players are responding to that. They trust him. They want to play for him. And in the modern game, where dressing room harmony can make or break a season, that's worth its weight in gold.
Champions League qualification was the minimum requirement, and Carrick got it done. He steadied the ship after a turbulent start to the season. He got results. He brought belief back to Old Trafford. That's not easy at a club where the pressure never stops.
Now comes the big question - does United give him the job permanently, or do they go chasing the next big-name manager? History says they'll probably go for the glamour hire. But maybe, just maybe, they've learned from past mistakes.
Since Sir Alex left, United has cycled through manager after manager, each one promising to restore the glory days. None of them truly understood what it meant to be Manchester United. Carrick does. He lived it.
The players backing him is huge. When Fernandes, your captain and best player, tells the board he wants someone to stay, you listen. When Maguire, who's been through the managerial carousel, says this is the guy - that means something.
Discussions are "expected to be positive," according to reports. That's encouraging. It suggests the board sees what the players see - a manager who gets results and understands the club's DNA.
Is Carrick the long-term answer? Nobody knows for sure. But he's earned the right to find out. He's earned the chance to build something at the club where he became a legend as a player.
United could finally have the stability they've been searching for since Sir Alex hung up his gum. All they have to do is listen to their players and give Carrick the job. That's what sports is all about, folks - trusting the people who've earned it.
