AS a Newcastle United supporter, it has always been a memorable experience to play at the Stadium of Light. But Michael Carrick has finally been able to reflect on the win he has been craving for.

Since arriving on the scene as a teenager at West Ham in 1998, the Wallsend-born midfielder has played on Wearside only four times and had not tasted victory until Boxing Day.

If the 4-0 scoreline was not sweet enough for Carrick, Arsenal's failure to overcome Portsmouth that night has left Manchester United a point clear at the top of the Premier League.

"I really enjoyed it at Sunderland and it was great to come up here and win," said the 26-yearold.

"It is the first time I have ever managed that at Sunderland.

"It means more to me maybe than anyone else in the United team as I come from these parts and I thought it was never going to happen.

"Most of my family were here which means a lot to me and winning makes it very special."

In his first season at Old Trafford Carrick was able to celebrate becoming a title winner and he is keen to relive that memory.

While he sits in front of the United defence, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Nani terrorise the opposition.

But, worryingly for rest of the division, having figured in all of the five matches during their winning domestic run, the £18.6m buy from Tottenham 18 months ago feels Sir Alex Ferguson's men are still improving.

"It looks like we are getting better and better and I hope that continues," said Carrick, who is looking for the run to improve at his former club West Ham tomorrow.

"We look really strong at the moment and five Premiership wins in a row is good form.

"We have a very strong squad and when you think of the players not involved at Sunderland there are a lot of options.

"Things are going really well and hopefully we can keep this momentum going. We are in the position we want to be in at this time of year.

"Things can turnaround very quickly with the amount of games being played. We said all along that around Christmas we need to be thereabouts.

"We are happy enough even though we are not quite there yet. We have got our noses in front but there is still half a season to go - a long time and a lot of points to play for."