Michael Carrick is hopeful of being offered a new contract soon by Manchester United, although the midfielder is yet start to negotiations regarding extending his stay at the club.
Sunday marked a year to the day since the 34-year-old signed his current terms and these expire in the summer. Carrick has made 33 appearances this season and is often selected by Louis van Gaal for important games.
He was one of United’s standout performers in Sunday’s 1-0 derby victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in which Marcus Rashford scored the winner after 15 minutes.
Asked about his future Carrick said: “I am not sure yet to be honest. I haven’t heard anything just at the moment, no. Hopefully [I will] some time soon. I have been here a long time, I have had some great times here [since 2006] and I love the club. It’s a great place to play. Playing games like against City keeps you having that buzz and enthusiasm to play for longer.
“I am not making a big deal of it, to be honest. I will just have to wait and see what happens. I am quite relaxed about it.”
Carrick has not given up on being selected by Roy Hodgson for Euro 2016 despite not being named in England’s squad for the upcoming friendlies with Germany and Holland.
“I spoke to him and it’s fair enough,” Carrick said of Hodgson. “He gave me his reasons and stuff and what he wanted to do so that is fine. I have a few days off now so I will go and have a rest, have a break, take the family away which will be nice and come back for the run in.
“It’s the same for everyone. A lot can change between now and the summer. There are some big games and you have got to be consistent so that is how it goes.”
United’s victory took them to within a point of City who have 51 and are in fourth place. “To get a result was great because it was a must win for the league and if we had lost today then it would have been a disaster in terms of going into the international break and coming back after that a long way off [fourth],” Carrick said. “It’s a massive boost but it’s only a big boost and worth it if we carry it on when we get back.
“It has been a funny season. In terms of us, it has been frustrating because we know we have got performances in us, and you can see that against the so-called bigger teams our form has been very good. So you can take positives from that but at the same time it’s not enough; consistency is the key to winning the league and doing well in it. You need to be consistent so that’s what we need to get better.”
There are only eight games remaining until the end of the Premier League season. “We need to go on a good run now, everyone is the same,” said Carrick. “It’s at that stage of the season where everything seems to count for a lot more, every point, every win, so that has got to be our main aim.”