League Cup quarter-final build-up – Carrick wary of “quick” and “clever” Port Vale

Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick says his side won’t be taking anything for granted when they visit Burslem on Tuesday night. The Valiants host the Championship side in the quarter-final stages of the League Cup.

Due to their League placing, Boro are strong favourites to win through to the semi-final but former England International Carrick sounded a note of caution when speaking to the local media at the pre-match press conference.

They’ve done very well. They had a fantastic game at the weekend. Lots of movement and quick, clever play so, yeah, they’re a good team and totally deserve to be where they are as we do…

He told them: “It’s a great stage to be involved in. We’ve earned it. We’ve been away a lot and we’ve had some good results and performances. It’s a big game for us. Cup quarter-finals don’t always come along every season and we want to be at our best. It’s a huge challenge and a huge game for them as well. The atmosphere I’m sure will go up some levels and we have to be ready for that.”

Boro do have a number of injuries but Carrick won’t be rotating his squad too much adding: “In terms of first-team players we are low on numbers. It gives a chance to some of the younger players… injuries are injuries and we’ll make the best of it… In some ways there is (a balancing act). At the end of the day it’s another huge game for us. It doesn’t have any less importance, that’s for sure. Everyone is hugely important and and everyone can make an impact.”

Commenting on the home side he added: “They’ve done very well. They had a fantastic game at the weekend. Lots of movement and quick, clever play so, yeah, they’re a good team and totally deserve to be where they are as we do. We’ll both be pushing for that next result.”

There are two former Boro players in the Vale squad in Connor Ripley and Uche Ikpeazu. Asked if he’ll be asking his staff for any inside knowledge of the duo Carrick added: “You’re always trying to get any information which is valuable information. I am sure they do see it as an opportunity and they should do, as we do. We’ve both here in this competition, we both want to make the next step. It’s all up for grabs.”

Discuss the League Cup quarter-final on our forum before, during and after the game on our dedicated match thread