‘Realistic’ Michael Carrick has his say on potential Manchester United title bid

A “realistic” Michael Carrick would not be drawn on suggestions his Manchester United side have entered themselves into the Premier League title race but said “you can’t rule anything out”.

Sunday’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace was United’s sixth win in seven since Carrick took over as interim boss, a remarkable turnaround in form lifting them to third in the table.

Their return of 19 points from a possible 21 is five more than leaders Arsenal have taken over the same period, and three more than second-placed Manchester City, with United having beaten both in Carrick’s first two games in charge.

With 10 games left to play they sit 13 points behind the Gunners with a game in hand, and eight points behind City going into Wednesday’s match away at Newcastle.

No side has come from this far back to take the title in Premier League history – in 1997-98 Arsenal were 12 points behind United at the start of March before winning the title by one point, but they had three games in hand.

However Carrick’s old boss Sir Alex Ferguson would surely not have conceded defeat in a similar position, and nor will Carrick, even if he had a wry smile when asked the question.

“You can’t rule anything out in football, but we’ve got to be realistic and know where it’s at,” he said. “I think we’ve just got to try and keep winning games and see.

“Above us now there’s two fantastic teams. There’s some really good teams in and around us. We’ve had a good run, we’re certainly not getting carried away in. You’ve got to be patient but you’ve got to be living in the moment a little bit, certainly, take the confidence.

“Wherever that’s going to take us, we’ll just have to see. But we’ll keep pushing anyway…

“Definitely a glass is half full on what you can