Carrick believes Man Utd ready to kick on

[Getty Images] Michael Carrick's message to Manchester United's fans in the club's Yearbook was written well in advance of a first phase of his squad's return to training on Thursday. It means the comments are general, not specific and do not reference the ongoing search for midfielders that has vexed many fans after United missed out on England's Elliot Anderson, who joined Manchester City for £116m and Mateus Fernandes, who opted to leave West Ham for Tottenham in an £85m deal. Carrick is certainly talking a good game. After steering United to third in the Premier League and a return to the Champions League after replacing Ruben Amorim, who was sacked in January, Carrick is demanding further improvement. "I know it can't always be plain sailing, because the standards are so high," he explains. "(But) we know we need to keep improving. "We have a huge responsibility here to win and play exciting football. That never changes, and we should always be striving to compete for the biggest trophies. "There are steps to take but we are in a good place to take them. "We've got a fantastic group of players, and we believe they have the required standards of talent, commitment and determination to be successful here. They love being at the club and we can see how badly they want it; that gives us the confidence to know we're really building something and moving in the right direction." Some would argue United need more of those players given the increased demands of Europe and the domestic cups, where they failed badly last season. Bournemouth's Alex Scott remains a prime target, while United have most recently been linked with Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni, another Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams and Felix Nmecha of Borussia Dortmund. Last summer they were keen on Brighton's Carlos Baleba.