MANCHESTER UNITED’S Michael Carrick insists no-one at Old Trafford will celebrate a top-four finish this season.
United have not won the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013, and Carrick, with five league winners medals in the bag, Champions League qualification is not enough.
United face Watford on Saturday two points behind fourth place Arsenal who have lost their last two league games.
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Carrick told the Daily Mirror:“It’s not something we’d celebrate, if we finished third, fourth or even second.
“You only celebrate when you win, but the Champions League is a big part of this club. It’s where you want to play, it’s where the best players want to play,
So in terms of attracting players and all that type of stuff, the club is geared up for that, of course it is, but you can only celebrate winning, really, and finishing top.”
United, currently sixth, have only made the top four once in the last three seasons, and SunSport exclusively revealed Atletico Madrid start Antoine Griezmann will only move to Old Trafford if they qualify for the Champions League next season.
“In terms of the top-four, you can’t say it’s unthinkable not to make it because it’s there, you’ve got to achieve it, you’ve got to earn it.
We’ve certainly got everything there to give us the best chance of reaching that goal, but the top-four has got to be the bare minimum, really.” Carrick added.
Standards dropped at United following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson - But with Jose Mourinho at the helm the experienced midfielder feels the side have much more attacking intent this season.
“It’s been a strange one,” said Carrick. “We started well, had a bit of a sticky patch, and ever since then we’ve gone an incredible run which, in other years, would have kicked us right up the table.
“But the teams around us went on similar runs. We’re playing well though and we’ve been pretty consistent over quite a long period of time.
“Every manager has got his own way of doing things, how they see the game, what to do in certain situations and general philosophy of how to put a team together.
“I think everyone agrees, attacking-wise, we look a lot more dangerous and exciting this year. We’ve scored a lot more goals and it’s a different style of play now.
There’s a confidence and a belief that probably comes from playing so well over a long period of time and getting good results."
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“It’s about building momentum, which is something you can’t achieve in a week or a month or two. It takes time but I think we’re getting there. We’ve still got a way to go, but it certainly feels like it’s going in the right direction.”
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