Michael Carrick: I want BIGGER influence on England's Euro 2016 campaign
MICHAEL CARRICK is looking for a crescendo to his international career after having his playing style described as relaxed as "listening to a piano" by his former Manchester United team-mate Gary Neville.
Michael Carrick admits his striving towards a strong Euro 2016
His midfield play is certainly smooth and easy but his time with England has been, to continue the musical analogy, distinctly staccato.
Thirty-one caps spread over 13 years is a remarkably low total for the player who, at 34, is the oldest in Roy Hodgson's squad, the most decorated alongside United team-mate Wayne Rooney, and the nearest thing England have to Andrea Pirlo, Xabi Alonso or Sergio Busquets. Danny Welbeck - 10 years his junior - has more caps.
Carrick, who spent so long in the shadow of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, has only played one game at a major international tournament, against Ecuador in the 2006 World Cup. And he is well aware that next summer's European Championships will be his last hurrah to make a belated impact at international level.
But as suits his unflustered personality, Carrick holds no regrets or grudges.
"I wouldn't say regrets," he said. "There were times when I felt I could have had more of a chance and others when it didn't go so well for whatever reason.
"I'm not complaining. I feel fortunate to have been able to play for England to start with. To play that many times in some ways is a good achievement.
"When you compare it with others and ask is it enough, I obviously feel I should have had more. That's not blaming any managers, that's down to me as well because at certain times I could have done better.
"That's the nature of the game. I've had opportunities. Sometimes it's gone well, sometimes it hasn't. I feel I should have had more caps but it's not something I'm sitting here regretting. There is still more to come.
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Next summer's finals is definitely what I'm striving towards
Michael Carrick
"Next summer's finals is definitely what I'm striving towards. I'd love to have another real crack at it. We're in a good position at the moment. As a team we're certainly moving in the right direction. There's really good signs.
"It's important not to get carried away. We've seen that before. But for me to have another crack and try to have a bigger influence in the team and the squad is the target."
On taking over at Old Trafford last summer, Louis van Gaal quickly recognised Carrick is the conductor of United's orchestra, likening him to a "trainer-coach on the pitch" and extending his contract by another year to ensure he brings up a decade of service at the club. But Carrick has missed four months of the season because of injuries which also ruled him out of all of England's autumn fixtures.
When he returned to the starting line-up from an ankle injury in the autumn, United strung together six wins. His return from a more recent groin problem coincided with the back-to-back wins over Tottenham and Liverpool, acknowledged as United's best performances of the season.
Significantly, in the 15 games he has started, United have lost only one. And that has been the pattern throughout his time at the club. They are far better with him than without him.
Roy Hodgson hopes he will have a similar effect on England in Friday's Euro qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley, which will be his first cap since the autumn of 2013.
And if Hodgson plays him at the base of the midfield diamond that worked so well against Scotland in November, Carrick will not be complaining.
"We've played a diamond at United enough times," he said. "It's not that the diamond is the only position I can play, but it's a formation that would probably suit me. Hopefully it will."
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