EPL: Manchester United are not giving up yet, says Michael Carrick

Midfielder Carrick expresses optimism over Man Utd's chances of clinching the Champions League spot despite his team's 1-1 draw against Everton

Man United's Michael Carrick (second from left) is dejected after conceding a goal against Everton during an EPL tie on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

London: Manchester United stumbled to a ninth home draw of a frustrating Premier League campaign on Tuesday, but Michael Carrick has not given up on a Top 4 finish.

With Saturday's goalless stalemate against West Brom fresh in the mind, things looked set to get even worse at Old Trafford as United trailed Everton 1-0 through Phil Jagielka's hooked first-half effort. United struggled to find an equaliser, but in stoppage time Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted a penalty to earn a 1-1 draw. The overriding emotion was relief but they face a fight for the top four. Europa League glory offers another route, but Carrick has not given up on securing a return to European football's top table through the league. "I see it as two points dropped," Carrick said. "It's not easy when it's not going well, especially after Saturday, but the boys kept trying. They kept going and kept going and obviously, we got a goal to give us the point. Though, it's a point it's nowhere near enough.

"You can't give up on anything and results can go funny ways sometimes. We're obviously giving ourselves the tougher task, but we're not giving up. We just can't find a way to find that first goal and to break teams down and make it easier for us," Carrick said. "It's something you look at and you try to improve on and it's not just an easy thing you can try and just switch on. I'm sure we'll get there. Generally, the performances have been very good at home. I think it probably wasn't so good (on Tuesday) but the lads showed character to keep trying," Carrick added.

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