Michael Carrick stands up for Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Premier League title plan for Man Utd

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Michael Carrick insists Manchester United are "definitely working towards it" as they bid to deliver on Sir Jim Ratcliffe 's plan of winning the Premier League title come 2028.

It would represent a huge upturn for the Red Devils, who are without a title since 2013 and finished 15th least season. But the club's hierarchy have earmarked 2028 as the target to end their title drought.

Sir Dave Brailsford announced the Mission 21 plan to deliver United’s 21st league title in their 150th anniversary year. The first step is to return to the Champions League picture and, with Carrick leading a renaissance, the club have managed to do that and now have their future in their own hands.

It remains to be seen whether Carrick is still leading his former side as their manager next season. But he continues to be quizzed on the club's ambitions and sees a positive future.

He said: “You’ve got to take it step by step. Certainly we want to keep improving and we want to keep moving up the table. At the moment, being around where we are, it’s an exciting time because we’ve got something to play for.

“We would love to be playing for something a little bit more, that little bit higher and really challenging for leagues. There’s no way you can just say it’s going to happen and assume it’s going to happen. There’s a lot of work that needs to go into that and a lot of things that need to be put in by the players to achieve that.”

Carrick himself won multiple titles when he was a player at Old Trafford. In the years since Sir Alex Ferguson's exit they have struggled to even mount a challenge, finishing second twice. But the ex-Middlesbrough boss believes the hunger is there to become champions once again.

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He added: “It’s tough to win the Premier League and we understand that. Certainly we are definitely working towards it - we feel that’s where we want to be. We have been there in the past and we want to get there again, but it’s certainly not straightforward and I think we all understand that. But we are certainly ­hungry to do it.”

Ratcliffe was at the Chinese Grand Prix over the weekend and was quizzed on the prospect of Carrick landing the job, which he has until the end of the season, on a long-term basis.

However the billionaire simply said: "Not going there."

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