Retiring Carrick's on-pitch speech

Michael Carrick made his 464th and, in all likelihood, final appearance for Manchester United in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Watford at Old Trafford.

After the victory in the Reds' last Premier League game of the season, secured by Marcus Rashford’s first-half goal, the players thanked the fans during their traditional lap of honour and captain Carrick addressed them in an on-pitch speech.

The midfielder, who will join Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff next term, said: "I'm going to keep this one brief as I got a lot of stick for speaking too much at my testimonial last year!

"On behalf of the players, all the staff, the manager and the coaching staff, we'd like to thank you for all your support again this year. We've had our ups and downs but we finished second and we thank you very much."

"And I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone. Your support over the years, both here and away, has been absolutely unbelievable. I've got a lot of memories now to cherish and some I'll never forget, especially at this place. It's an amazing place to play football. It's the greatest club in the world and I thank you for your support over the last 12 years."

Carrick also paid tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson, who is recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery on a brain haemorrhage.

"It has been a tough week for everyone at the club," Carrick said. "A major part of this family is Sir Alex and he's had a tough week. He's probably watching somewhere or he'll hear about it and I'm sure he appreciates all the support you've given to him. All our thoughts and prayers go to Sir Alex and his family. We wish him a speedy recovery."

The 36-year-old, who was an unsurprising winner of our Man of the Match poll, with 89 per cent of the vote, ended his speech with a look to the future.

"My role changes this week and I need to thank Jose for giving me the opportunity", he said. "I look forward to working with him and learning from him.

"The only thing left now in the season is a trip to Wembley and we'll give everything we can next week to bring the FA Cup back here. Thank you very much."