Manchester United veteran Michael Carrick is phenomenal and difficult to replace... but I'll have to manage his game-time, says Jose Mourinho 

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Jose Mourinho admits he will have to manage Michael Carrick's game time as the Manchester United midfielder enters the twilight of his career.

United have won all four games Carrick has started this season, culminating in Wednesday's EFL Cup win over Manchester City when he brought balance to the midfield.

At the age of 35, however, Mourinho concedes that Carrick will have to be used sparingly because it is unfair to expect him to play as many games as his younger team-mates.

Michael Carrick celebrates during Manchester United's narrow EFL Cup victory over City 

Carrick, pictured competing for the ball with Sergio Aguero, was United's captain in the win

'One thing is to have 25 years another thing is to have 35 years, that's the logic of things,' said the United boss. 'The only thing I can say is that he (Carrick) is phenomenal, no doubt about it.

'Do I have to manage him? I think I have to. I cannot expect from Michael what I can from (Marcus) Rashford or (Ander) Herrera in terms of playing seven consecutive matches. But he's phenomenal.

'When he is on the pitch he gives us important things. He gives us stability in our game, he gives mental freedom to the other guys around him to be more offensive. He's not just a player, he is somebody who has big understanding of the game.

'It's a pity you cannot stop the clock. It's a pity when you have some players who year after year become older. In five years' time (Lionel) Messi will be 34 and we'll be crying that he's 34. Michael is such an important player and a player that is very difficult to replace.'

The victory over City went some way towards making up for Sunday's 4-0 hammering at Chelsea. But Mourinho claimed that he would rather have gone through that painful experience on his return to Stamford Bridge than see United suffer four one-goal defeats.

It was his heaviest ever defeat in the Premier League and he made a public apology for United's collapse at Stamford Bridge. But as he prepared to face Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday, the United boss was able to put it in perspective as he reflected on his team's seven-game run in the space of a month.

The 35-year-old, pictured in action with Leroy Sane, was playing his fourth game of the season

The former England international was a calming presence in midfield as United clinched a win

'What I know is in the last seven matches we lost one,' said Mourinho. 'It's better to lose one match 4-0 than lose four matches 1-0 – that's 12 points. One match 1-0 is three points. Our last run of results is not bad, the performance level even better.

'We are a team in a process of building up. You don't do that with one transfer window or three or four months.

'In this moment we just think about game by game. Now it's Burnley and Burnley is difficult. I know that. I've felt that even in the season I was champion with Chelsea.

'We drew at home against Burnley. We were fighting with Man City for the title and they also drew at home against Burnley.

'It's the same Burnley, same manager, same players basically, same philosophy. It's going to be very difficult for us.

Jose Mourinho admits he will have to manage Michael Carrick's game time at United

The former Chelsea manager delivers instructions during Wednesday's League Cup victory 

'Especially after it comes in run of five matches with two days in between – Liverpool, Fenerbahce, Chelsea, Man City and now Burnley. Finally we are going to have a Sunday off and a little bit of time until Fenerbahce.'

Mourinho again paid tribute to his team for recovering from the Chelsea defeat to beat City 1-0 and reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

He added: 'After the defeat we had to play Man City two days after and because of that defeat the match became more than a normal cup match. It was more because it was City but much more because two days before we had such a bad defeat.

United have won all four games the former Tottenham midfielder has started this season

'Sometimes people react to bad defeats in a negative way and you go into a bad run of results. In this case, the boys managed to find that extra effort and extra competitive mentality to play that game because it meant more than just a game.

'It was very important for the players to win it and to give back to the fans, not the compensation for the bad defeat because there is no compensation, but to give the fans a good feeling to win against a City rival and progress in competition in which Man United has not been successful in the last years.

'It was important to go to the quarter-final and the last eight. We have 50 per cent chance to be in semi-final.'