Michael Carrick: Spur of the moment

After a fast start, his career tailed off for a couple of years, but Michael Carrick this season has been pivotal to Tottenham's push for a Champions' League place. He talked to Jason Burt

"He is mentally so strong. He always wants the ball. He plays as if he is in the park. When I played in the park when I was young I was unbelievable, but doing it in a national match is different. That is why I admire Carrick. Carrick copes with the pressure," Martin Jol, Tottenham Hotspur's head coach.

Michael Carrick and Joe Cole were out in London's West End one night last week. Not that Tottenham Hotspur or Chelsea should worry what two of the brightest stars of English football got up to. It was just a quiet meal - and a chance to catch up on each other's careers. There was a lot to talk about.

"Nothing's changed," Carrick says of his relationship with "Coley", the two having known each other for nine years, a friendship that started as exciting apprentices at West Ham United. They have shared the intervening highs and lows, including the recent Premiership match which Chelsea won with an astonishing injury-time goal. "We're still good mates and it's great to see him doing so well," Carrick adds. "He's really come good in the last two years or so. He's hit the heights."

Cole has got company. Carrick, too, is - injury-free and pivotal to his team - fulfilling his potential. The two made their debuts for England together. Now they will, barring cruel mishap, be in the squad for this summer's World Cup finals after Carrick's impressive return to international football in the friendly fixture against Uruguay at the start of the month. "The game came at the right time, with it being the last one before the squad is announced," the 24-year-old states, choosing his words with care. "We'll just have to see if I get the chance again and try and do the same things. Hopefully, that will be good enough."

Carrick is right to be cautious. He was 19 when he first played for England in 2001. Along with Cole, against Mexico, he was called from the bench in the 47th minute at Derby's Pride Park. A second cap quickly followed, against the Netherlands. And then his body intervened. A series of injuries, three operations on his groin - "when I was 19, 20, 21" - and, naturally, his career struggled for momentum. Around two years were shaved from it. Were they lost years? "No, not at all," says Carrick. "I'm here now, trying to get into the Champions' League and in the World Cup squad. I'm still just 24 so I couldn't wish for more than that. I've a lot to think about for the future."

That holds true for both club and country. Spurs' faith in Carrick is clear, with Jol having built his young team around the 6ft 1in midfielder, while the argument that he may be a natural at international football has gathered pace. Indeed, Sven Goran Eriksson has mused on it. "He is like some players we have seen in the past," the England manager said after the assured Uruguay performance, "who are actually more suited to international level".

Carrick, who says he was "satisfied" with how he did, concurs. "I've always enjoyed that style of play, even going back to Under-21 games. It's a lot more tactical, a lot more patient in the build-up. I always tend to get a lot of the ball. I do enjoy that stage."

It helps, he says, to play with Cole. "But it also helped that there were nine other world-class players as well." Intriguingly, Eriksson also hinted that there may be games in Germany more suited to Carrick, which would see him dislodge either Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard or one of them moving at the expense of David Beckham or Cole.

The statistics show that no Spurs player is on the ball more than Carrick and he nods in agreement with the assertion that teams are learning more about the value of retaining possession. "You see it in international football," he says. "That's the way it's played. And that's how it is at the top of the Premiership now. It's more and more tactical, less blood and thunder and tackles flying in everywhere."

That has never been Carrick's style, although he laughs when asked whether he sees himself as a playmaker or a defensive midfielder. "What's a play-maker?" he says, believing it is everyone's duty to try and be creative, although Carrick goes on to explain what his role for Spurs partly involves. "It's something I've worked on, playing in that position where you have to do a lot of winning the ball back, starting counter-attacks. It's more about trying to put yourself into positions to read the game and intercept."

If that sounds like the job Claude Makelele does for Chelsea then Carrick says that the Frenchman is the "obvious candidate" when it comes to looking for players to learn from. "He doesn't go around smashing into people, he intercepts or puts himself in a position where he at least stops the ball being played. Maybe that's something that people don't really see but that the team appreciates. If you can make the opposition play square instead of playing forward, then you're doing your job."

Carrick has also learnt from his Dutch team-mate Edgar Davids. "With all the things he's done in the game it would be foolish not to." Last season Carrick was the Premiership's fourth most effective ball-winner, earning what Jol describes as "nicks", stepping in to whisk away possession, while he can tackle, too. Only seven others won more challenges while he finished ahead of Gerrard, also completing more passes than the Liverpool captain.

Carrick's figures for this season are even better but, above all, he has always been a player with an ability to create time and space. It helps that he can play of either foot. "When I was younger I worked on that quite a bit. It makes it easier. I just remember always trying to do it and coaches encouraging me."

Not all footballers work as hard on their technique, but Carrick has always shown an appetite for a challenge. He moved from the North-east to London, a product of the prolific Wallsend Boys Club, among whose alumni are counted Alan Shearer and Peter Beardsley, when he was just 15. Carrick chose West Ham ahead of a dozen other clubs, including his beloved Newcastle United, whom Spurs play next week, and Middlesbrough, where he was until he was 13 and where his father, Vince, had also once played, featuring in the reserves before quitting football. "It was a big move but, at the time, it was the right thing to do, the right decision and I had to do it. I've always been happy with it," Carrick says.

He did not start out as a midfielder. "I used to play centre-forward and then I played off the front man so it wasn't really until I got into the first team that I played deeper," Carrick says. There were three young tiros in Harry Redknapp's West Ham midfield - Carrick, Cole and Lampard. "It was just a case of letting them go and do their stuff. It's just the way it happened," he says of how he came to take on more defensive duties.

It is not just with his feet that Carrick has a sense of equilibrium. He is unswervingly level-headed, peppering his conversation with the importance of being so. "My mum and dad wouldn't let me be any other way," Carrick explains. "And it's good to be like that. I try not to get too excited when things are going well because you never know what's around the corner." For example, injury has recently robbed his younger brother, Graeme, who was once at West Ham with him, of a career as a player. He has now taken up coaching. "A lot of things are up and down in football - you lose on Saturday, but there's another game you want to win," Carrick says. "If you don't take it like that then you are a yo-yo. It's my nature to try and take things in my stride."

Such as West Ham's traumatic relegation from the Premiership in 2003. With the astonishing exodus of players as the club tried to balance their books - including Jermain Defoe, now also at Spurs - Carrick stayed. But one season in the Championship, where he gave it "his best" before losing in the play-off final, was enough. He was frustrated and both he and West Ham, who needed more cash, knew it was time for him to go, so he signed for Spurs for £2.75m after Arsène Wenger failed to pursue his interest in taking him to Arsenal. It is a decision that the Frenchman has since admitted was a mistake.

If anything, the coming and going of players at White Hart Lane has been even greater than at Upton Park but after Jacques Santini's brief tenure, in which Carrick was a peripheral figure, Jol took over and immediately recognised his worth. The Dutchman has continued to push Carrick's cause, although the two have joked that the midfielder's ability to look like "as if he's in the park" can be double-edged. "I know what he means," says Carrick. "But it's my nature in some ways. I'm laid-back and that's the way I play the game. Maybe he wants a bit more urgency sometimes but you can't change my personality." There is no lack of urgency at Spurs. They are a club in a hurry. "The turnover in the last couple of years has been big but, obviously, we're now trying to get that bit more stability," says Carrick.

"We're heading in the right direction and with the addition of a top player here and there it will benefit the whole squad. We're in a good position to progress, although maybe things have happened quicker than people at the top end of the club had expected." Such as the tilt at Champions' League football. Spurs occupy fourth place - as they have done for some time - but with the home straight in sight, the pack is gathering. "People are going to ask questions," Carrick says. "Last week we had a five-point gap but from week to week that's going to change. Some will win, some will get beat. It'll be a different story from now until the end of the season."

Indeed, Arsenal briefly leapfrogged Spurs last Saturday until Jol's team won at Birmingham City at teatime. Spurs could again be behind tonight with Arsenal away to Portsmouth while they do not play West Bromwich Albion until Monday. It is nerve-shredding stuff.

The success of the young team in the Premiership has certainly raised expectations. "I think at the start of the season then, yes, Europe would be a success," says Carrick, referring to Uefa - rather than the European - Cup qualification. "But now we're still in fourth that happiness at just being in Europe has been replaced. Now people are saying if we don't get into the Champions' League it won't be a good season. But when you look at the bigger picture then we are making progress."

The challenge for Europe, Carrick says, makes it easier not to think about the World Cup. Otherwise it could well be a distraction. "It's in my thoughts. People are talking about it all the time so that's difficult. But we've still got nine games left and there's an awful lot to play for. If we were further down the League and weren't fighting for so much then maybe I'd think about it more. But there's so much on my plate here."

Nevertheless, the defeat at Stamford Bridge, through William Gallas's wonderful strike - "no disrespect to him but he won't score like that very often," says Carrick, still shaking his head in disbelief - was a blow especially with the teams below, them all winning and Arsenal "hitting form at the right time".

But Carrick has another spin on it. "You can take heart. We had the beating of them [Chelsea] in the second half," he says. It was not, he adds, like last season when Spurs - under Santini - were memorably accused by Jose Mourinho of "parking the bus" in front of their goal. This time it was different. "We took the game to them and that's just the way we play. We're not going to just defend. The players that we have in our team have our style of play and that's the way it has worked all season. So there's no reason to change it. We went there and believed we could win. It shows how much we have come on as a team."

Carrick has two years left on his contract and, with other clubs taking note, both sides are keen to discuss a new one this summer. "There's bags of time to renew," says Carrick. "We'll probably sit down at the end of the season. The place is great and everything is looking towards the future. Obviously, if everything's right then I'd love to stay. The set-up suits me fine and as long as I keep playing and improving then that's all I'm focused on. We've the basis of a great squad. We've grown up together in the last year, two years. It's a good place to be. The future is bright."

The progress made by both their clubs may well have been a topic of conversation for him and Cole over the dinner table last week. Carrick would like to meet up more often with his friend but schedules are hectic. "They [Chelsea] play so many games what with the Champions' League and so on. But it was great to catch up," Carrick says. If Spurs fulfil their own ambitions, then next season it may be even harder for them to make a date. That, and England, are not the only thing that Carrick and Cole are equals in. When it came to picking up the restaurant bill they paid half each.

Buying English Tottenham's preference for domestic talent

* Jermaine Jenas (age 22 when signed) Cost £7m from Newcastle in '05

Since signing? Thrived in midfield

* Jermain Defoe (21) Cost £7m from West Ham in '04

Since signing? 37 goals in 89 apps but not an automatic choice

* Michael Dawson (21) Cost £4m from Nottm For in '05

Since signing? Has become first choice in the centre of defence

* Calum Davenport (21) Cost £3m from Coventry in '04

Since signing? Loaned out to West Ham, Soton and Norwich

* Michael Carrick (23) Cost £2.75m from West Ham in '04

Since signing? Has become key member of side

* Tom Huddlestone (18) Cost £2.5m from Derby in 05

Since signing? Four substitute appearances for the first team

* Danny Murphy (28) Cost £2m from Charlton in '06

Since signing? Limited chances

* Paul Robinson (24) Cost £1.5m from Leeds in '04

Since signing? First choice

* Anthony Gardner (18) Cost £1m from: Port Vale in '00

Since signing? 116 first-team appearances. Replaced in the starting line up by Dawson this season

* Aaron Lennon (18) Cost £1m from Leeds in '05

Since signing? Has impressed. Reportedly a target for Manchester United