Man U won’t back off against Hull – Carrick
MICHAEL Carrick has pledged that Manchester United will not rest on their laurels when they travel to Hull City looking to close out victory in their League Cup semifinal tonight.
United won 2-0 in the first leg at Old Trafford courtesy of second-half strikes from Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini, putting them within reach of a final showdown with either Liverpool or Southampton.
But Hull have shown signs of improvement under new manager Marco Silva, giving English Premier League leaders Chelsea a decent game in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
“It’s definitely not over, we all know that,” Carrick, 35, said.
“We are telling ourselves that. I think we’ll be pretty much full-strength and will approach the game like it’s a 0-0 and starting from scratch.
“It’s dangerous when you go in there defending a lead to tell yourself this result will do or that result will do, or we can afford to do this or that.
“We need to approach it like any other game, keep our focus and intensity and try to win the game.”
After a run of nine successive wins in all competitions, United’s advance towards the Champions League places has been held up by 1-1 draws against Liverpool and Stoke City.
It means they remain sixth in the league table, four points off the top four, but Carrick feels a Wembley final appearance will show Jose Mourinho’s men are on the right track.
“Going to Wembley, winning a trophy, how can you not like that?” Carrick said. His side last reached a League Cup final in 2010, when they beat Aston Villa 2-1 to claim the trophy for a fourth time.
United captain Wayne Rooney will go into the game with a spring in his step, hav- ing scored a record-breaking 250th goal in the club’s colours with a stoppage-time free-kick to equalise at Stoke.
Mourinho will be able to recall centre back Marcos Rojo after he missed the Stoke trip through illness.
Hull’s preparations for the game have been overshadowed by the serious head injury suffered at Chelsea by midfielder Ryan Mason.
Mason, 25, had to undergo surgery after fracturing his skull in an aerial collision with Gary Cahill, with Hull revealing on Tuesday that he was making excellent progress.