The Champions League knockout stages are set to resume and Man Utd are once again on the outside looking in.

The social media team at Manchester City were having some fun a couple of weeks ago when they marked an entirely forgettable FA Cup win at Salford City with a post that poked fun at their cross-town rivals. “A win to mark our 41st game of the season!” said the message on X.

The target was obvious. City were bringing up game No.41 on Valentine’s Day, while Manchester United will only play 40 in the entire season. After failing to qualify for Europe, they were knocked out at the first hurdle in the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.

It is a season nobody at Old Trafford wants to repeat for a variety of reasons, not least the lack of football for one of the world’s biggest football clubs. United have another 10-day break between fixtures coming up, and at the end of March, they will begin a three-week gap between games.

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A year ago, they were about to embark on the knockout stages of the Europa League, but while the TV screens around Carrington reminded everyone of the latest draws for European competitions on Friday via the rolling news channels, United’s staff and players had no reason to stop and take note.

Michael Carrick was paying little attention to the Champions League draw on Friday morning, despite the presence of six English clubs in the last-16 and the prospect of some mouth-watering ties in March. United will only play four games next month, so there will be plenty of time to settle down and watch some of them.

The good news for United is that, thanks to a run of 16 points from a possible 18 under Carrick, they are now in pole position to return to the Champions League next season. Carrick made 70 appearances in the competition for United, winning it once and playing in two further finals, so he knows that United’s history should make a seat at Europe’s top table a given.

But the 44-year-old struck the right tone when he called on the squad to go and earn that reward with a strong finish to the season. For all of United’s European history, they have drifted away from a position as Champions League regulars, with just two quarter-finals since 2013 and only four appearances in the knockout rounds in 13 seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

“It’s certainly where we want to be,” said Carrick. “I don’t think we can assume and just take things for granted that just because the past is the past, that it takes care of what should happen here and now or next season.

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“I think you’ve got to earn that, you’ve got to show you’re good enough, and I think that’s why when you have times of success, or you achieve success, it’s warranted to show how tough it actually is to get it.

“To be honest, at the moment, it’s really laser-focused on what’s ahead for us. There’s no point in us looking elsewhere. We know where we want to be, we know what we’ve got to do to get there and the performance level and the games that are coming up, where we want to try and get the right results.

“But I think looking at what else is going on in and around Europe at this point is not really going to help us, but it’s certainly where we want to be.”

United can take another step towards this target against Crystal Palace on Sunday, when Carrick will look to continue his excellent start in the job. Having had a free week since Monday, they should have an advantage over a team that played in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.

But when Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle resume Champions League duties next month, while United’s players are spending their week at Carrington, they will be reminded again of what they’re missing, and why they need to get back there.

Financially, it will be a significant boost this summer, but even more importantly, it is where this club should be, as Carrick well knows.

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