Michael Carrick plays down talk of permanent Man United role after win over Liverpool

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mainoo-kobbie/nBy3DbC3/"]Kobbie Mainoo[/a] struck late [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/liverpool-lId4TMwf/manchester-utd-ppjDR086/?mid=zRIM7cR1"]to seal ‌the victory[/a] after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Liverpool[/a] fought back to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]erase United[/a]'s early goals from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/matheus-cunha/bq5QzRdb/"]Matheus Cunha[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sesko-benjamin/QDozP4IN/"]Benjamin Sesko[/a].[/p][p]Mainoo, whose ‌career has seen new life under [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/carrick-michael/phM8NElP/"]Carrick[/a] after he fell out of ‌favour with previous manager Ruben Amorim, heaped praise on the interim boss.[/p][p]"[b]All the confidence he ‌gives all the players, you want to follow him and fight for him ‌and die for him on the pitch[/b]," Mainoo said.[/p][embed guid="957812ca-d0b6-44e4-a377-543e49122c99" url="https://x.com/ManUtd/status/2050979442634190863" social-type="twitter" /][p]Carrick has guided United to third in the table, a remarkable run that included victories over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a] and now Liverpool.[/p][p]"It's been ‌a good run, we've obviously beat some very, very ⁠good teams, and it's been challenging," Carrick ‌said. "[b]Listen, I love doing what I'm doing, it's a great position for me to be, ​and it feels pretty natural, if I'm totally honest, without being blasé, because it's a difficult role[/b].[/p][p]"[b]But I kind of understand what it brings, and ​to be sat in this position is a good position to be[/b]."[/p][p]Carrick stressed his focus had been on trying to get the best out of players, "and giving ⁠them the opportunity to go ​and perform."[/p][embed guid="f56f0dfc-407a-412d-921f-aeb96eca57b4" url="https://x.com/ManUtd/status/2050981102106357935" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]And then there's obviously the part of it today, seeing this place (Old Trafford) alive and bouncing at the end is a real joy and a pleasure to be in this position[/b]," he added.[/p][p]Carrick praised the spirit of his squad.[/p][p]"[b]The pleasing thing to ‌see that camaraderie and looking after each other, it was tested at 2-2, and seeing where they're really sticking in and fighting for each other, that's what we want[/b]," he said.[/p][p]"We want a team to be proud of, and the boys have certainly gave us that."[/p][p]Asked if he will be disappointed if he is not given the permanent job next season, the caretaker manager said: "We'll have to wait and see, that's all we can do.[/p][p]"[b]I think when we came in, Champions League, to be honest, was a little bit in the distance, and we want to try ‌and get back into Europe," he said. "So, to be where we are with ​three games to spare is a good achievement[/b]."[/p][embed guid="f1674b12-a4c9-4027-8287-a56f7a5c02ef" url="https://x.com/ManUtd/status/2050975957096226842" social-type="twitter" /][p]But Carrick stressed that nobody was ‌resting on their laurels.[/p][p]"(Champions League) is a huge step, for so many reasons ... and there's a lot of satisfaction that comes with that," he said. "[b]But that can't be everything. We want more than that, we want to expect more of that and consistently[/b].[/p][p]"[b]And that's kind of the message really of: let's ⁠try and push on and keep improving. ⁠It's not just to sit ‌back and think, 'that was all right. That was good. We've achieved something[/b]'."[/p]