Michael Carrick shakes his head, unable to identify with those players and clubs who equate a top-four finish with winning silverware. It may be four years and counting since Manchester United last laid hands on the Premier League trophy, but for the club’s new captain, the notion that anything less than first place is acceptable offends his sense of thinking.

“It’s all about winning things,” Carrick explains matter-of-factly. “In some ways, it’s winning the league or nothing. It’s another one gone by if you haven’t won it. That’s the way I see it. I can’t get my head around that – to say top four is acceptable. I know we’ve had changes and adjusted as players have come in and out and you can’t expect to win the league every year, but you’ve got to set out to do that.

“As I said, it’s pretty much win the league or nothing for me. I was obviously fortunate enough to win the league straight away and, having that run we did in my first three years, gives you that taste of ‘Right, it’s all or nothing now’, so maybe I was spoiled in my early years. But it’s greed in a way – that drive to win more and more, that’s not something that you lose.”