Michael Carrick has said that it is “possible” for Manchester United to get back to the glory years of Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure.

The former midfielder solidified himself as a club legend under the Scot during his playing career at Old Trafford, and now he sits in the same hotseat that Ferguson left in 2013.

Carrick, meanwhile, is under serious pressure after just one win in 10 games leaves United 17th in the Premier League table, although the winless run was snapped on Tuesday with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Roma in the Champions League.

The Red Devils have endured their worst start to a campaign in 40 years, and comparisons have been made between Carrick’s opening games of his first season in charge to Ferguson’s in 1990.

Ferguson, who was appointed United boss in 1986, was spared what had seemed to be an inevitable sacking after he beat Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup in January 1990 after a woeful start to the season that saw his side 15th in the table, with results including a 5-1 hammering by Manchester City.

Carrick has suffered the same fate this term, with many believing that he would be dismissed after the 4-1 and 3-0 defeats by Como and Bourenmouth a fortnight ago.

He was retained in-post by the club’s hierarchy ahead of the 2-0 loss at Chelsea, with it believed that the club’s hierarchy want to reassess his position during the November international break.

Ahead of another crucial Premier League tie, this time against Aston Villa, Carrick looked positively at what the future could hold for his side.

"It's difficult to bring success. It was difficult then, and it's difficult now," he said.

"It just shows you how tough it is to have sustained success, never mind moments of success.

"We've got to live in the moment. We know what we've got to do, and we've got to be focused on bringing success week to week in games.

"Then things fall into place. If you do that enough, and do it often enough, you'll bring a bigger version of it.”

The ex-England international was asked whether his current United team could be held to the same standards as that of Ferguson’s pomp, to which the head coach replied: "It's not impossible. Anything's possible.

"You've got to build. You've got to be realistic, and you've got to put things into perspective as well.

"Look at the recent history we've had, where we're trying to get to and what we want to achieve. It's not going to happen in a blink of an eye. It's not going to happen overnight.

"Success does take time, and we don't like having to spend time, but it does take a period of time to build.

"We showed a really quick response and improved a lot last season, and that shows what's possible.

"The game has certainly changed, no doubt. It always does. It evolves, and it had evolved by the time Sir Alex came in, probably after Sir Matt and the years following that.

"It evolves all the time. That's how it is. It changes, and we've got to deal with what's in front of us. That's us.

"I understand the comparisons. There's always different things to compare, but we have to live in the present as well and definitely use past experiences to help us.

"Time and patience, but we're all desperate to win football matches and win them as quickly as we possibly can."