Michael Carrick believes moving to Manchester United was the best decision of his career.

The former Tottenham midfielder has managed to secure two Premier League titles, not to mention a European Cup in his short time with the club.

He is ready to return to action following a slight hamstring injury against Orlando Pirates in a Vodacom Challenge match in South Africa on Tuesday.

Carrick is looking forward to the new campaign and the chance to add to his medal haul.

"Being at United is the best place in the world to be. The best thing I ever did was join the club," insisted Carrick.

"The team we have is moving in the right direction and we are progressing well.

Success

"We want to build on the success we've had over the last couple of years.

"We expect so much of each other and ourselves. What people from outside say doesn't have an effect on us - we know what we can do and what we're capable of doing."

Carrick believes seasoned stars like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville are the root cause of United's continued success.

"I look at them and wonder how they've done that for so long but now I know you can't get enough of it," Carrick added.

"Hopefully that will drive us on to have more success in years to come.

"We managed to win the double so as players, we're going into the new season full of confidence."

England

Carrick, however, has yet to catch the eye of Fabio Capello, but the former West Ham man says he is not worried and is only focusing on doing his job for United.

"I just put England to the back of my mind. I'm here to do my best for United. That's what I love doing," noted Carrick.

"If I can get in the England squad then that's great but I can only put in my performances for United and see how far that takes me."