´They have shown what they can do´ – Carrick confident in Man Utd´s top-four charge

Michael Carrick has little reason to believe his Manchester United team will run out of steam in their quest for Champions League football ahead of their trip to Newcastle United.

United moved up to third in the Premier League following their comeback win over 10-man Crystal Palace last Sunday, extending Carrick’s dream start to life back at Old Trafford.

Indeed, Carrick has earned 23 points in nine Premier League games as the Red Devils’ head coach (W7 D2 – including both spells).

It is the joint-best start after nine games by any manager in the competition’s history, alongside Ange Postecoglou (also 23 in first nine).

Carrick’s side are given a 58.5% chance of finishing in the top four by the Opta supercomputer, and with the possibility of ending the campaign in fifth also being enough to seal a return to UEFA’s flagship competition, their probability improves to 83.3%.

And while the United boss did not want to get too far ahead of himself, he had full belief that his players could get the job done in their final 10 games of 2025-26.

“I think coming in at the start it was quite quickly, one game at a time again,” Carrick said.

“And I think that’s the only way you know is when you’re in it, and you live in it, and you’ve got to perform, and the boys have got to be in a good frame of mind to be able to be able to put performances together.

“I think the only way to do it and give yourself the best chance is to stay in the moment, and it’s for everybody else to get involved in the discussions.

“I didn’t get too far ahead in terms of what was possible at that stage.

“We had to get to work quickly and put things into practice, give the players the right balance to go into a game.

“I know some of the players, some more than others, it’s a really good group. Talent-wise, ability-wise, they have shown what they can do.

“Good habits, good behaviour, looking after each other, I can’t speak highly enough of the players.”

Carrick was also asked about the availability of defensive duo Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, with the latter taken off in the 24th minute for Noussair Mazraoui.

“Still got a bit of time until the game, and we’ll just have to see how they feel. So we’ll give them every chance,” Carrick added.

“We’re working towards it. They weren’t feeling too good. We’ve still got a bit of time before the game so we’ll see how they feel.

“It wasn’t injury, both weren’t feeling too good, so it’s one of those things really. We’ll see how they are.”