Bruno Fernandes has revealed he knew Michael Carrick was ready for the step up to the Manchester United job during his first stint in charge at Old Trafford.
Carrick led the team as caretaker manager for three matches in November 2021 following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who he beat to the head coach role in January of this year after the dismissal of Ruben Amorim.
He oversaw wins against Villarreal and Arsenal, and a draw at Chelsea, before deciding to leave the club when Ralf Rangnick was appointed interim boss.
'He had three games as a manager,' said Fernandes on The Wayne Rooney Show.
'The way he prepared for the games and the way he spoke to us made you think he was more than an assistant manager. He was ready for the next step.'
Daily Mail Sport revealed this week that Carrick is in pole position to land the Man United head coach role on a permanent basis after guiding the club to third in the table and the brink of Champions League qualification.
The 44-year-old ex-Middlesbrough boss has won eight of his 12 games in his second spell in charge but has yet to receive any confirmation he will remain in the job beyond the end of the season.
Carrick, who said this week he would not 'chase' co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe for an answer on his future in the Old Trafford dugout, has been given the backing of United stars Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo.
'When he came in, he had the positive energy the team needed,' said Fernandes. 'Not just nice words but when he needed something stronger, or something softer, something to bring the team together. That was not just important for the team but the whole environment.
'We weren't thinking about what could have been or what we should have done. Very quickly we changed to, "it didn't work out, let's turn on to the other one and push to achieve what we want this season".
'We have got very good results. This league is so tough and at this moment, we are in the best position we could be. When Michael came in, we never thought at this moment, we would be third.'
Fernandes' future at the club also remains uncertain, with his contract expiring next year.
The Portuguese star turned down a mega-money move to Al-Hilal, thought to be worth around £200million, to Al-Hilal last summer.
The Saudi side had offered Fernandes a tax-free contract in the region of £700,000-a-week plus bonuses - while United were in line to receive a £100m fee - but he instead opted to stay at Old Trafford.
Fernandes has been open about the impact of his wife, Ana Pinho, on his decision and said he did not want to leave United while the club was 'struggling'.
'I stayed because I thought I still had something that I can give back to the club,' said Fernandes.
'Obviously the Saudi situation, with the money... there was a lot. The good thing I have in my family is that my wife is pretty down to earth like me.
'We're very aware that we don't want to be the richest person in the world. We just want to be the ones that have achieved the dreams they had and live a good life with their kids and trying to be as successful as possible.
'The words of my wife were like, "have you achieved your dreams? Have you achieved everything you wanted?"
'And that small thing she said made me understand that she's on the same page as me. Let's keep trying and see where this takes me.'
United are back in action on Monday when they host Brentford in the Premier League.