Carrick content to win ugly for now

MICHAEL CARRICK is delighted Manchester United have learned how to win ugly.

The England midfielder played a leading role at the Liberty Stadium as United ground out a victory that was far from convincing.

However, after the calamity of last month’s humiliating 6-1 defeat at the hands of Premier League leaders Manchester City, United were grateful to escape from Wales with maximum points. “We are happy to have won although we weren’t at our best,” said Carrick.

“The football wasn’t as fluent or easy on the eye as it could have been, but 1-0 is a win and we’ll take that. At this stage of the season it is about picking up points — judge where we are by Christmas and we’ll kick on from there.

“You always want to score more goals, of course, but I don’t think it’s a concern. It’s about winning games and it’s a good sign that we can win games like that. There’ll be a point in the season when everything will come easily.

“We’ll score some more goals because of the talent in our team. We believe we can do that, but at this time it is about grafting, sticking together and showing a lot of character.”

Man of the match Ryan Giggs said: “It’s a tough place to come. Their record shows that, they were unbeaten here in their first five games. We knew it would be tough.”

Although United were far from impressed with their own performance, Swansea skipper Garry Monk believes United have the necessary tools to win the title for a fifth time in six years.

“For me personally, it’s between the two of them. I think they have the strongest squads,” said the 32-year old centre half.

“With Manchester United, they are not only a great side, but they’ve also got the tradition and experience that goes with it.

“With City, they have everything they need around them. They are also the team in form.”

“Don’t get me wrong, there are some unbelievable teams in the league, like Chelsea and even Arsenal are on a great run. Then there’s Tottenham too. But as far as winning the title goes I can’t see passed the Manchester clubs.”