Man United sent 'ridiculous' message as Carrick says 'it's easy to forget'

United all but secured their place in next season's Champions League after a year without European football, following their victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Matheus Cunha scored the only goal of the game to extend United's gap to sixth to 10 points.

The victory at Stamford Bridge allowed Carrick's side to quickly bounce back from a home defeat against Leeds United, while having to employ a makeshift defence. Only eight points are now required from five matches to return to Europe's biggest competition.

Hargreaves believes that Carrick has made astute evaluations of his squad and that he's proving to be well-equipped for the task at hand. Having replaced Ruben Amorim in January, until the end of the season, he has given United little reason not to persist with him.

"Carrick understands the players and that’s probably why he’s there," Hargreaves said. "He understands the pressure of playing for this football club.

"He puts the boys in the right positions where they need to play to succeed and they’re better in every capacity. So, to not give it to him after giving it to him, probably at the time when you wouldn’t have expected it, would be utterly ridiculous."

Former Chelsea playmaker Cole, believes it's hard to make an argument against Carrick extending his contract as head coach. "It's absurd to think of not giving it to him," he said.

"He's come in, got more points than any other person in any other team. What more can you do? It would just be absurd, it wouldn't be a gamble, it would just be absurd [not to give it to him], he's proven it."

And anyone associated with United can take heart that Carrick believes there is still more to come from the squad at his disposal. He had a simple things he wanted to change upon his arrival.

"Make them understand and appreciate playing for this club," Carrick said of his task. "It's easy to forget the position that we're in. We can play better, there's lots of layers to come, but we've got results to build momentum and a foundation."

He did not see the game against Chelsea as a moment where United should be overwhelmed by pressure. "We were fine, you know?" he said, of Monday.

"We learned from things, and spoke about a few things, but that's football. The league is what it is. There are results all over the place. We weren't getting too down about that at all.

"If anything, we looked at it and thought, 'we're right near the top, if not top of the last 12 games'. We took a lot of confidence from that.

"We knew what this game was. We didn't overplay it. We didn't speak. It wasn't about positions or points or anything. It was just coming down here to win a game and commit to that. The boys definitely did that."