Michael Carrick will continue to avoid the Premier League table, despite Manchester United getting back to winning ways at the weekend.
It has been a difficult start for the champions this term, with Liverpool, Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion all inflicting defeats on the Reds. And when Southampton earned a point at Old Trafford last Saturday with a late equaliser, this stalled any thoughts of making progress and climbing up the table with the chasing pack.
United were given another scare this weekend as Stoke City twice took the lead in Manchester, but late goals from Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez secured a 3-2 win. But although the maximum points were obviously much needed and were greeted with relief, it didn’t result in Carrick rushing for a glance at the latest standings.
“We’ve still got a way to go, we’re not kidding ourselves,” the 32-year-old midfield player said. “By no means are we at our best – we’re not in bad shape but there’s more to come. There’s no point looking at the table at the moment. Obviously we’re aware of the situation but there’s no point going over it in your head thinking ‘what if’, we’ve just got to concentrate on getting the wins and see where that takes us.”
The win against Stoke sees United in eighth place on 14 points after nine matches, eight behind current leaders Arsenal. The Gunners are the next visitors to Old Trafford in the Premier League, on 10 November. David Moyes takes his side to lowly Fulham the week before, so will be hoping momentum can be gained ahead of Arsene Wenger’s visit.
