Carrick insists Manchester United are 'not that far away' from Premier League title challenge

Michael Carrick has defended Manchester United’s trajectory, insisting the club are “not that far away” from mounting a genuine Premier League title challenge despite enduring their worst start to a top-flight season in 40 years.

United’s leadership has long pointed to 2028 — the club’s 150th anniversary — as a target year for reclaiming the Premier League title, a plan internally dubbed ‘Project 150’ and first outlined to staff at Old Trafford by chief executive Omar Berrada two years ago. Berrada reaffirmed the ambition over the summer, saying: “Ideally, we do it next season, and if not, then the following season. I think we’re in a good place.”

Carrick, speaking publicly on the target for the first time since being appointed on a permanent basis in May, acknowledged the scale of the task but urged perspective on United’s current position. “Correct me if I’m wrong, are we four points off the top four or something?” he said. “Perspective is important and football can change. When we came in in January, we were a lot further away from third spot and we ended up finishing third.”

The United head coach conceded there are problems to fix but argued the club’s situation looks worse than it is because of a run of poor results dominating the narrative. “If you focus on some things, there are maybe issues or problems that we need to fix, or you focus on the things that are possible and what can be achieved, and it’s a very different mentality,” he said.

Carrick also pointed to United’s position in the Champions League — one win and one defeat from their opening two games — as evidence the club remain competitive across multiple fronts. “We’re still in the mix of that and we’re certainly still in the mix of the Premier League in finishing towards the top,” he added. “It feels, because of the results, everyone focuses on the negative side. And it’s up to us to turn that corner, but it’s actually not that far away.”

The comments come amid growing frustration within the squad over the level of summer investment. Defender Lisandro Martinez suggested the squad was not adequately strengthened after United’s defeat to Atletico Madrid, and several players had expected more spending from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers heading into the new campaign.

When asked whether Berrada or sporting director Jason Wilcox had specifically referenced ‘Project 150’ during his permanent appointment, Carrick said the goal at the club was simply to win “as soon as we possibly can” — with no fixed timeline from his own perspective.