Carrick shrugs off Scholes dig as Man United gear up for Villa test

Michael Carrick on Friday brushed off criticism from former Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes as he prepares his side for a crunch Premier League game against Aston Villa.

The third-placed Red Devils return to action on Sunday after losing 2-1 at Newcastle earlier this month.

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Unai Emery’s Villa are behind United only on goal difference in a tight race to secure Champions League football next season.

The top five teams in the Premier League are almost certain to qualify for Europe’s top club competition.

The Newcastle defeat was Carrick’s first since taking over for the rest of the season in January and Scholes made a sarcastic jibe on Instagram about the man he played alongside in midfield at Old Trafford.

“Michael has definitely got something special about him… cos Utd have been crap last four games,” read the post from Scholes, who later said he had meant no offence and had contacted his former teammate.

But Carrick told reporters at his pre-match press conference on Friday that he was not dwelling on the issue.

“There’s nothing to say about it really,” he said. “I think that’s just where we are in terms of social media and things and captions and quotes.

“It can be taken in different ways, so just be calm about it and understand actually the real meaning of things.

“Listen, there’s different opinions out there and it’s fine. People can have different opinions.

“It’s just things get taken way out of one extreme to the other and it is what it is, but I’m not worried about it. I don’t make a big deal of it either.”

United finished an embarrassing 15th in the Premier League last season under Ruben Amorim.

Carrick’s men were on a roll until their last-gasp defeat by Newcastle at St James’ Park, but the former United midfielder said it was inevitable they would suffer a defeat at some stage.

“It’s a tough league,” he said. “Most teams, if not every team, has suffered that in recent times.”

“It’s putting things in perspective really and putting it in shape where we know where we can improve, what we can do better.”

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Carrick said was “excited” by the challenge of hosting Villa at Old Trafford.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position now where there’s an awful lot to play for,” he said. “So we’re really embracing the situation at the moment and looking forward to the next game.”

Carrick said midfielder Mason Mount had taken a “big step” and could return from a two-month absence this weekend.