United were bidding for a fifth straight Premier League victory under their interim boss which would have lifted them up to third and closed the gap to second-placed Manchester City to just three points.

But Tomas Soucek fired struggling West Ham ahead and they looked set for a vital three points in their bid to beat the drop until substitute Sesko struck late on.

The first dropped points of Carrick’s latest spell in charge is by no means a disaster for United, who are still well on course for a return to the Champions League following their recent upturn since Ruben Amorim was sacked.

But spare a thought for Frank Ilett, the United fan who gained more than two million social media followers since pledging not to get a haircut until the Red Devils secured five wins in a row. After 493 days, the wait for a trip to the barbers will have to go on.

West Ham, buoyed by some decent form of their own with three wins from four outings, started on the front foot with Crysencio Summerville crossing for Jarrod Bowen, who glanced his header wide.

Dutch winger Summerville, in blistering form with five goals in five matches, then cut inside and sent a curler towards the far post, with Senne Lammens forced to paw the ball away for a corner.

However, the hosts had a close shave after 20 minutes when Bruno Fernandes drilled in United’s first corner of the match.

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The ball reached Luke Shaw, who whipped it goalwards only for former Red Devils full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka to clear his shot off the line, denying his old team-mate a first goal in three years.

West Ham had not kept a clean sheet since August until Saturday’s win over Burnley, but they were digging deep to frustrate Carrick’s side.

Just after half-time, when a superb first-time Fernandes pass looked set to send Amad clear down the right, El Hadji Malick Diouf made an excellent recovery tackle.

West Ham immediately broke, and when Shaw dawdled under a high ball and let it bounce he was nudged aside by Bowen.

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Soucek played the ball out to the Hammers captain, continued his run into the box and applied a simple finish to Bowen’s low cross.

United thought they had equalised when Casemiro powerfully headed home Kobbie Mainoo’s cross, but a VAR check showed the Brazilian was offside.

But just as West Ham looked to have held out for a win which would have moved them level with Nottingham Forest in 17th, Bryan Mbeumo swung in a cross and Sesko conjured up an exquisite volley to snatch a draw.