Michael Carrick says he never lost confidence in his ability to establish himself at Manchester United.

The England midfielder's £18.6million switch from Spurs last summer raised more than a few eyebrows. Some quiet early performances put even more question marks over the wisdom of the purchase.

But the longer the season went on the better Carrick got and he became an integral part of United's title success.

Carrick, 26 on Saturday, said: "Maybe I did prove people wrong. But you can't think about doing that or it will distract you from your job.

"I know it was a massive move for me but I always believed in myself.

"In fact, I felt more like a United player the longer the season went on.

"I had to get used to the way we play and the different expectations and pressures from what I was used to.

"But if someone said at the start of the campaign I would have a championship medal, play over 50 games and score six goals I'd have taken that.

"Having said that, playing with the players here I always believed we would win the League.

"Going through what I did last season was a great experience. I now know how hard it is to win a title and it was special to do it in my first season.

"But we are not satisfied we have to keep going and keep improving.

"Last season I learned a lot along the way from the likes of Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs about just what it takes to win a title.

"They have been there so long and achieved so many things.

"Those players always look forward and not back and that's what people like myself have to do now."