“Hey, listen up!” – Michael Carrick talks about how Man Utd players really want to win the Premier League next season.
Michael Carrick has praised the positive attitude of his Manchester United players as they aim for Premier League title success next season.
Right now, United just need two points from their last four games to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League—a huge comeback after finishing 15th last year, their worst ever in the league.
But Carrick believes qualifying for the Champions League should be just the first step. Midfielder Mason Mount said earlier this week that the team should now focus on winning the league title.
“I want to win the Premier League,” Mount said. “Can we do it? I think we can. It might feel a bit far off, but you need to have that kind of mindset to push yourself as a team. We’ve already shown we can beat top teams like Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. So we definitely have a chance.
I’ve won the FA Cup with the club, and that was amazing. But winning the Premier League? I can’t even imagine how special that would be.”
Carrick, who hopes to become the permanent manager this summer, welcomed Mount’s confidence. He said winning the league for the first time since 2013 should be their next big goal after returning to Europe.
“To win the league is the ultimate, but it’s a big challenge,” Carrick said.
“I want the boys to feel confident and believe that it’s possible, maybe just around the corner. That’s exactly where we want to be.
How close we are, we’ll see with time. I’m not making big promises, but the team’s progress and strong results against top teams are giving the players a lot of confidence. So we need to keep moving forward.
“It’s really about the right mindset. Sometimes I need to set clear goals and targets, but the players are hungry and understand where this club wants to go. We won’t get carried away just with qualifying for the Champions League—it’s a good step, but we want more.
“The progress from where the team was last season to now competing near the top is huge. The players deserve a lot of credit, but they know this is just another step and we want to keep pushing for bigger achievements.”
As United near returning to the Champions League after two years, Carrick also knows the team must be ready to handle tough matches against top European sides. He pointed to the thrilling Champions League semi-final game between Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich, which ended 5-4 to Bayern, as an example.
“You definitely want to play in those kinds of matches, late in big competitions like the Champions League,” said Carrick. “I’ve been lucky to experience that before—those nights are special, and you want to test yourself at the highest level.
“That game was fantastic to watch. I’m sure defenders like Woody [Jonathan Woodgate] and Johnny [Evans] might have thought differently than the attackers, but that’s football! It was an amazing game, and it’s all still to play for next week.”