Michael Carrick: We shouldn't 'get ahead of ourselves' in light of Manchester City's poor form

Michael Carrick believes that Manchester United will not start to think about the upcoming derby game against Manchester City, as they still have to take on Wolves before the battle against their neighbours.

The Eastlands club have lost three consecutive games in all competitions, the last of which was against Polish side Lech Poznan in the Europa League. The recent defeats have also sparked speculation that their manager Roberto Mancini could be heading for the exit door, amid reports of dressing room unrest.

But the 29-year-old insists that his side will remain focussed on the task at hand against Wolves, as they were one of the three teams that recently got the better of City - who still are in fourth position in the Premier League.

"We know the bigger picture," Carrick told reporters. "When things are going well we don't get carried away and when things aren't going so well we don't get despondent either because we know things will turn.

"We are on a good run at the moment. We are happy with the way things are going and are now bouncing into games. "The derby is there, but in another way, it still seems a long way off.

"We cannot afford to get ahead of ourselves because we have Wolves to play on Saturday and they beat City last week so that is going to be tough enough."Concerning the "bigger picture" that the former West Ham United man spoke of, United are currently five points behind league leaders Chelsea.

And a part of the lead could arguably be attributed to the Red Devils' early season blues as they surrendered leads and fell to draws with Fulham, Everton and West Bromwich Albion. However, despite drawing more games than any of the top eight in the Premier League, they are still in third place and are the only team not to have lost a league game this season.

"We are still frustrated about all those silly points we gave away but we are unbeaten and that gives us a lot of confidence," said Carrick. "It gives us confidence to know we are tough to beat again. "We have always been able to score goals. Now is the time to start getting the results we want."