Roy Keane says Michael Carrick lacks the experience and football knowledge to lead Manchester United to Premier League titles and believes the club must appoint a permanent manager elsewhere.

Carrick has enjoyed a strong start as interim boss, winning his first two matches against Manchester City and Arsenal.

Those results sparked talk that Carrick could get the job full-time, but Keane has warned against that move.

“Being caretaker manager is very different from managing United long-term and winning league titles,” Keane told The Overlap podcast.

“Carrick doesn’t have enough experience. I don’t think he has enough football knowledge yet.

“I’m not saying he can’t become a top manager. But this summer feels far too soon.

“If he proves me wrong and wins titles, I’ll happily admit it. But United must aim higher than the top four or five.”

United now sit fourth ahead of Sunday’s home game with Fulham and look on course for Champions League qualification.

Keane said fourth or fifth place should be the minimum for United, not the standard for a permanent appointment.

“Four or five weeks ago, nobody mentioned Carrick as the next United manager,” he added.

Gary Neville agreed that United must “get the best” manager available and warned against rushing Carrick into the role.

Gary Neville fears Manchester United would be setting Michael Carrick up for failure by making him the permanent manager this summer (Mike Egerton/PA)

“If you manage one of the biggest clubs in the world, you need years of experience,” Neville said.

He pointed to Mikel Arteta’s time under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City as a model.

Neville suggested Carrick could develop by working under elite managers such as Luis Enrique, Thomas Tuchel, or Carlo Ancelotti.

“Putting him in charge after four months and a short spell at Middlesbrough sets him up to fail,” Neville said.

“I fear we’d watch one of our own struggle again. We’ve seen this story before.

“Manchester United must appoint the best manager available this summer.”