Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has praised interim head coach Michael Carrick – but stopped short of backing him to land the job on a full-time basis.

United appointed Carrick in January on a contract until the end of the season after sacking Ruben Amorim.

The 44-year-old former United midfielder tasted defeat for the first time in charge at Newcastle last time out but after steadying the ship at Old Trafford and helping the club climb to third in the Premier League table, remains the bookmakers’ favourite to land the full-time job.

Asked by Sky Sports’ Craig Slater at the Chinese GP in Shanghai how he assessed the job Carrick was doing, Ratcliffe said: “He’s doing an excellent job. Yeah, absolutely.”

But pressed on whether Carrick could get the permanent role, Ratcliffe said: “Not going there.”

United face a key game in the race for Champions League qualification when Aston Villa visit on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

Asked about qualifying for Europe’s top club competition, Ratcliffe said: “Yes, clearly we’re thinking about that. But there’s still seven or eight games to go. Still a while yet.”

Carrick tells United to ’embrace’ Villa showdown

Manchester United enter the weekend level on points with Unai Emery’s side but a place higher in the Premier League standings on goal difference after a superb two months.

United have rocketed up the table thanks to a run of six wins in eight matches and Carrick is desperate for his players to bounce back after their slip-up last time out.

“It’s always about what’s next, what you’re going to react (like), whether you’ve won, whether you haven’t won, Carrick said at his pre-match press conference.

“What’s going to be the reaction? What’s the emotions in the group? What’s the motivation for the next game? And driving that forward.

“I understand with it being the first defeat it feels a little bit different, but it’s going to come at some point.

“It’s a tough league. Most teams, if not every team, has suffered that in recent times so it’s putting things in perspective and putting it in a shape where we can improve. We’ve taken a lot of confidence from (games recently) as a group and what we show we can achieve and how we play.

“It’s an important game, there’s no getting away from it. It’s a fantastic game.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position now where there’s an awful lot to play for so really embracing the situation and looking forward to the next game.”

Mason Mount may return from a two-month lay-off but Patrick Dorgu, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt remain sidelined.