Michael Carrick speaks directly about Manchester United's title chances.

Michael Carrick states he does not want to dismiss the possibility of Manchester United mounting a miraculous late-season surge, enough to make their Premier League title challenge a more credible story rather than just a dream.

The recent 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace helped Manchester United secure 6 wins in 7 matches since Carrick took over as interim manager. This impressive run has propelled the Red Devils to 3rd place, marking a surprising turnaround in form.

When asked about the possibility of competing for the title with Arsenal and Manchester City, Carrick said frankly: “In football, you cannot rule anything out, but we also have to be realistic and understand our position. The important thing is to keep winning and then see where it takes us.

“Above us are two truly excellent teams. There are also many other strong teams around us. We are on a good run, but we certainly must not become complacent. You need patience, but at the same time, you have to live in the present and make use of the confidence,” the Manchester United manager added.

The statistics are even more eye-catching as Manchester United have taken 19 out of a possible 21 points in their last 7 matches, which is more than league leaders Arsenal by 5 points, and 3 points more than Manchester City over the same period. Notably, Manchester United have already beaten both Arsenal and Manchester City in Carrick's first two matches in charge.

However, the gap remains a significant challenge. With 10 league games remaining, Manchester United trail Arsenal by 13 points but have a game in hand, and are 8 points behind Manchester City ahead of their away match at Newcastle on March 4th.

In Premier League history, no team has ever come from such a deficit to win the title at the beginning of March. The closest precedent was in the 1997/98 season when Arsenal trailed Manchester United by 12 points in March but went on to win the title by a single point, though the Gunners had three games in hand at that time.

“Wherever this journey takes us, Manchester United will keep pushing forward. I always look at things with a 'glass half full' perspective. Of course, I am still realistic: to achieve that, we have to win a lot of games. So we take it one match at a time,” Carrick said.

The impressive run of results has also inadvertently elevated Carrick's standing in the race for the permanent manager's job at Old Trafford. The 44-year-old coach signed a contract until the end of the season when chosen to replace Ruben Amorim in January, as a 'stop-gap' measure while Manchester United considered long-term options. However, the strong improvement under his guidance has made Carrick a leading candidate in the market, even rated highly by bookmakers.

Nevertheless, Carrick still avoids speaking much about his personal future:

“You cannot ignore the current circumstances, but honestly, I don't have too much to say. I enjoy being here, I enjoy the job I'm doing. I said from the start: I am not making short-term or fire-fighting decisions. However long I am here, my responsibility is to make the best long-term decisions for the club.”