Manchester United's £18m signing Michael Carrick may be a first team regular but denies having to justify his hefty transfer fee. The former West Ham player, who arrived at the club from Tottenham in the summer of 2006, said: "It doesn't really bother me. It is a case of playing week, in week out and training to become the best I can be.

"It is out of your control and so I just get on with it. As long as things are going right here (at United), and hopefully for England, that is all I can control.

"If you start getting carried away you lose a bit of focus and start worrying about what things are said on TV or in the papers.

"It doesn't really interest me too much. It is about winning trophies and being successful for this club."

The 27, continued, "It was said to be a lot of money at the time but that didn't really bother me. I was more bothered about coming here and winning things.

"In the two seasons I have been here we have managed to do that, proving people wrong.

"The only person I had to prove something to was the manager as he signed me and you want to pay him back. Hopefully I've gone some way to doing that."