Michael Carrick insists losing the title to Manchester City last term helped fuel Manchester United’s charge to this year’s Premier League crown.
United wrapped up their 20th English league success with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa, and midfielder Carrick was quick to stress the heartbreak of losing the league to their local rivals on the final day of the previous campaign was the main motivation behind a superb season.
“It hurt and it wasn’t pleasant but we pretty much started thinking about this season straight away,” Carrick told the club’s official website.
“It was said in the dressing room [at Sunderland, on the final day of the 2011-12 season] ‘remember this feeling’. It wasn’t pleasant. Even coming to the end of this season, we had a decent gap, but we didn’t want to let it slip because we know what it felt like.
“There are not many teams who could have come back from that. It was devastating. But we came back for the start of the season, got out on the pitch, started playing well and getting points. I am proud of being part of that. The character of the lads is incredible. Not many teams could have done that.”
The former Tottenham man has now won five league titles and one UEFA Champions League crown since moving to Old Trafford, and the 31-year-old is still looking to win more silverware.
He added: “I said before I came here that if I won a league that would have meant everything to me. Strange as it is though, as soon as I won that first league it left me hungry for more.”
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