Carrick wants United focus after Cup win

Michael Carrick has urged Manchester United to quickly forget their EFL Cup triumph and solely focus on their top-four ambitions as they finally get back to Premier League action.

The Red Devils lifted the first trophy of the Jose Mourinho era with a 3-2 victory against Southampton last week, but their main aim this season has always been securing Champions League football.

United sit sixth in the Premier League prior to Saturday’s clash with Bournemouth, but with Liverpool and Arsenal faltering, United have a real chance to take advantage.

Photo by Kieran Galvin/NurPhoto via Getty Images

And veteran midfielder Carrick wants them to move on from last week’s victory quickly to ensure they do not get distracted.

“We came back to training on Wednesday and we started looking forward to Saturday’s game,” Carrick said.

“In the back of your mind, going into this run of games now, knowing that we’ve won a trophy gives you an extra boost, but it’s not something that we’ve been enjoying all week.

“You move on quickly, take what you can from it, take the positives, take that belief and confidence that it brings, but at the same time all the focus has to be on the next game.

“That’s the nature of being successful, I think – you have to move on quite quickly.”