It’s been over four years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired yet Manchester United are still struggling to recover.

The Red Devils have not only failed to mount a title challenge since the Scot’s departure but have reached the top four on just one occasion. They have some rather kind UEFA rulings to thank their Champions League status for this year.

Nevertheless, it seems the club is finally back on track under Jose Mourinho and after a routine season of consolidation. Three trophies, it must be said, cannot be bad for a campaign simply meant to lay foundations.

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But that debut season is long gone now and there is fresh pressure for Mourinho to kick-on in the United job. If you like, there is now expectation to bring back the so-called glory days.

In terms of survivors from those times, there are now very few. This is no more the case than since the departure of all time top goal scorer Wayne Rooney who returned to boyhood club Everton after 13 years at the Theatre of Dreams.

It means that Michael Carrick is the only remaining player from the side that won the Champions League in Moscow in 2008. How times change.

It is perhaps fitting then that it is the English midfielder whom has inherited the captain’s armband from Rooney. The 35-year-old has been a United player since 2006 and has amassed 459 appearances for the club, after all.

Yet, as one of the final custodians of the good old days, it begs the question as to how the new skipper will uphold the United tradition or is the armband a mere symbol?

From Carrick’s interviews so far, the latter is certainly not the case and it seems the midfielder will be taking a no-nonsense approach to the role. He does stop as far as suggestions of matching Roy Keane go, to be fair.

According to the Mirror, he said: “I can’t get my head round that, to say the 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.

“It’s all about winning things.

"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.”

So, although Carrick has made just one demand, it’s a big one at that. You can’t help but agree with the man, though; United are English football’s most successful club and the league can only evade them for so long.

Do you think Michael Carrick deserves to start for Man Utd next season? Let us know by leaving a comment below.