Carrick driven by cup ambition

Published: 26 Feb 2010 - 16:03:07

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Michael Carrick has admitted he is a changed man thanks to life at Old Trafford. Carrick freely accepts that when he moved north from Tottenham in 2006 the thought of winning just one medal was enough. Yet it did not take much time surrounded by the serial trophy hunters at Manchester United to alter Carrick's view. So, although the England midfielder has three Premier League titles, a European Cup and a Carling Cup winners' medal in his collection, he retains a fairly strong hunger to beat Aston Villa in Sunday's Carling Cup final. "Without doubt I am a different player than I was when I arrived," he said. "I used to dream about winning a trophy and I was lucky enough to win the Premier League in my first year. "That was great and before I might have settled for it, relaxed and thought, 'That's me'. "But pretty much straight afterwards, before we went away in the summer, we lost the FA Cup final. "It made me wanted to win something else to put that right. "Ever since then, as soon as I have won something, I have wanted more. "Winning is a great feeling but the desire to achieve extra is the thing that drives you on." United intensity That intensity is one of the reasons Carrick has no intention of looking back, even though he has been part of the most prolific period of gathering silverware that United have ever known. "Your career is not about what you have done over the last few years," he said. "It is about the future. That is what is so great about the people at this football club. "The appetite of people like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville - and not forgetting the manager - is incredible and it rubs off on everyone else. "When I have my feet up in the front room in 10 years' time maybe then I will look back and say we had a good spell. "Right now I want that spell to go on as long as possible." The Carling Cup may not have the prestige of the Premier League, FA Cup or Champions League but it offers Carrick and his team-mates a potential place in the history books. In all their years, Manchester United have never successfully retained a cup competition. After Ben Foster's penalty shoot-out heroics against Tottenham last season, that is exactly what the Reds will do if they overcome Martin O'Neill's men. "It would be nice to do and we have got ourselves into a good position," observed Carrick. "But that is just a by-product of the main aim, which is winning the game and picking up that medal." Should Carrick play against Villa? Have your say.