MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United managers come and go with disturbing regularity and Pep Guardiola has faced a few since taking charge at Manchester City 10 years ago.
On Saturday in fact, Michael Carrick becomes the sixth.
That number sums up the varying fortunes of the Manchester rivals over the past decade, with City dominating the Premier League and conquering Europe while United has lurched from one crisis to another.
Asked on Friday what the secret was to his longevity, Guardiola's answer was brief.
“Results,” he said. "If you don’t win, you’re sacked. So we won a lot. That’s why I’m still sitting here. There’s no other secret."
Guardiola has won 15 major trophies at City, including six Premier Leagues and the Champions League. This season City is still in contention for four trophies.
By contrast United crashed out of both domestic cup competitions at the earliest possible stage, is seventh in the Premier League and didn't qualify for any European competition.
Ruben Amorim last week became the sixth permanent United manager to be dismissed since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Former player Carrick was hired this week until the end of the season while United's hierarchy weigh up its long-term options.
One of those could include Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who announced on Friday he will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season. The 51-year-old Austrian is reportedly being considered by United.
"I am looking for a new challenge,” Glasner said, adding he had not spoken to another club.
For now, Carrick has the hot seat and 17 games to make his case to stay in charge beyond this season.
“I’m eager to succeed," he said. "We’ve got a big job to do. It’s an important job and it always is here to win games and to play well and to to do it in a certain way.”
United's priority is to secure Champions League qualification from a top four position. Should Carrick achieve that, as well as provide the type of attacking soccer the club's fans crave, his case will be strengthened.
“We want to be top of the league ... but we've got to take some small steps towards that and European football would be a step forward and we've got to keep pushing.”
Victory against second-placed City at Old Trafford would be the perfect start for Carrick, who then has to prepare for a trip to league leader Arsenal.
United has had to get used to living in its neighbour's shadow since Ferguson departed.
The once dominant force in English soccer has not finished above City in the standings since taking the title in Ferguson's final season.
Since then City has won 18 major trophies and United five.
While United was runner-up twice to Guardiola's City, it finished 19 and 12 points adrift each time.
“It is what it is,” said Guardiola who has experienced far more intense rivalries in England with Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool and Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.
“You know since day one the opinion I have of Man United. But what happened (there), I don’t know because I’m not there.”
Despite City's bulging trophy cabinet, its head-to-head statistics in one-off games are much closer.
Carrick's first Manchester derby will be Guardiola's 27th, more than any other City manager. He has won 14 of them, including penalty shootouts and victories against each United manager he has faced from a list including Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag and Amorim.
United has won nine.
The teams met in back-to-back FA Cup finals in 2023 and 24, winning one each.
City has enjoyed more dominant wins — scoring three or more goals on seven occasions — and in 2022 routed United 4-1 and 6-3.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola reacts after Erling Haaland missed a scoring opportunity during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
FILE - Manchester United's manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, right, and assistant Michael Carrick stand on the touchline during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester United and West Ham at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country for 40 years, had an early lead Friday in a tense presidential election marred by an internet shutdown, voting delays and opposition allegations of ballot stuffing and detentions by security forces.
Provisional results from half of the polling stations tallied so far showed Museveni with more than 70% of the vote while his main challenger Robert Kyagulanyi, the musician-turned-opposition leader best known as Bobi Wine, had 19%, according to the national electoral commission. Wine asked his supporters to “ignore fake results being announced.”
Activists protesting against the election results so far lit bonfires in the capital, Kampala, on Friday afternoon as the provisional results were being announced. The U.S. Embassy issued a security alert urging its citizens to be cautious as security officers were "firing into the air to disperse gatherings".
The 81-year-old Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Wine, who is calling for political change, said he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before the voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent alleged electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.
Wine was hoping to end Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside Wine's house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.
“He is a person of interest. He is a contestant,” police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told local broadcaster NBS, suggesting heavy security deployment around Wine’s home was for his own security.
Several people were killed and others were injured in a violent incident in central Uganda that involved supporters of two parliamentary candidates, Rusoke said. He said that more than 20 opposition supporters were arrested.
Rusoke also said police had dispersed a group of “rowdy and riotous youth” in Kawempe, an area of Kampala. Witnesses in Kawempe said they heard gunfire as police in the streets dispersed protesters disputing the victory of a rival parliamentary candidate.
The security forces were a constant presence throughout the election campaign, and Wine said authorities followed him and harassed his supporters, using tear gas against them. He campaigned in a flak jacket and helmet due to his security fears.
Wine wrote Thursday on X that a senior official in his party in charge of Uganda's western region had been arrested. He charged that there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”
Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.
To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.
Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results then. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.
Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
