Midfielder admitted his team's all-round play "wasn't quite there" as they lost captain Nemanja Vidic to a red card in between two Wayne Rooney penalties
Michael Carrick believes Manchester United are "up and running" following their 2-0 victory over Otelul Galati in the Champions League.
The Premier League champions had to cope with the loss of Nemanja Vidic and were frustrated for much of the Group C clash against the plucky Romanians.
However, they were rescued by Wayne Rooney, who won two penalties and converted them both, and Carrick admitted that his side did not play particularly well.
"It was a bit, well, bitty," Carrick told Sky Sports. "Good at times. We expected this really.
"People expected us to come here and score a lot of goals and it'd be an easy night, but we knew it would be tough. We had to be patient and in the end we've come through.
"[The pressure is] not something we take notice of to be honest. But we knew ourselves that it was going to be tough. We went into the game expecting it to be tough and anything else was a bonus really.
"We're delighted with the three points, and they were much needed and a long time coming. But we're up and running now and hopefully we can keep the momentum up."
Despite picking up a win, United were not at their best but Carrick claimed the points were more important than the performance.
"It doesn't come all the time. You can't do it every week," he added. "At times we played some nice football, but all-round it wasn't quite there. But we'll take the three points and now we're looking forward to Sunday [against Manchester City].
"The penalties, well especially the second penalty, I thought was a great penalty with the 'keeper going the right way and it had to be right in the corner. That was a nice way to kill it off in the last few minutes.
"It was a dubious sending off at best, really, so we're disappointed with that. It was all hands to the pump for a few minutes really and luckily I got a block in on the guy who had a decent shot at goal and I managed to get in front of him.
"I thought maybe I'd be playing at centre-half for a bit longer but the boss changed it and after that we were pretty comfortable and managed to get a second goal."
The Premier League champions had to cope with the loss of Nemanja Vidic and were frustrated for much of the Group C clash against the plucky Romanians.
However, they were rescued by Wayne Rooney, who won two penalties and converted them both, and Carrick admitted that his side did not play particularly well.
"It was a bit, well, bitty," Carrick told Sky Sports. "Good at times. We expected this really.
"People expected us to come here and score a lot of goals and it'd be an easy night, but we knew it would be tough. We had to be patient and in the end we've come through.
"[The pressure is] not something we take notice of to be honest. But we knew ourselves that it was going to be tough. We went into the game expecting it to be tough and anything else was a bonus really.
"We're delighted with the three points, and they were much needed and a long time coming. But we're up and running now and hopefully we can keep the momentum up."
Despite picking up a win, United were not at their best but Carrick claimed the points were more important than the performance.
"It doesn't come all the time. You can't do it every week," he added. "At times we played some nice football, but all-round it wasn't quite there. But we'll take the three points and now we're looking forward to Sunday [against Manchester City].
"The penalties, well especially the second penalty, I thought was a great penalty with the 'keeper going the right way and it had to be right in the corner. That was a nice way to kill it off in the last few minutes.
"It was a dubious sending off at best, really, so we're disappointed with that. It was all hands to the pump for a few minutes really and luckily I got a block in on the guy who had a decent shot at goal and I managed to get in front of him.
"I thought maybe I'd be playing at centre-half for a bit longer but the boss changed it and after that we were pretty comfortable and managed to get a second goal."
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