Manchester United's Carrick Says 2008 Success Will Be Springboard To More Trophies

Should Manchester United win both of their games in hand then they will only be one point behind league leaders Liverpool.

Michael Carrick believes the Premier League, Champions League, and now World champions cannot sit back and polish their trophies, but instead stay focussed on the task of trophy retention.

The playmaking midfielder has been instrumental in building up play, contributing to United's attacking impetus, and has been pivotal in their march to honours.

He told MUTV: "This year has been incredible. To be able to set out and achieve everything we wanted to do – winning three major trophies – is very special, something to remember.

"But, as players, we can look back on that at the end of our careers. That’s when we take it all in. Now we want to strive to achieve more and more. Hopefully 2009 will be even better."

He continued: "We said that if we were in touch with the leaders after Christmas we’d be happy. We’ve had a funny first half to the season for different reasons. But we’re in touch now and it’s up to us. If we can keep winning we’ll be right in there."

Reflecting on the manner of battling one-nil wins, Carrick added:

"We had a spell last season where we were winning 1-0 for five or six games in a row. The wins all count at the end of the season. They can’t all be big results. It’s not all about scoring three, four, and five.

"For us it’s about getting the momentum going and putting a winning run together. We want to build on that in the New Year.

"We’ve had two tough games against Stoke and Middlesbrough, but we’ve come through with two wins. Hopefully we can look ahead to a good rest of the season."

Alan Dawson, Goal.com