Fergie urges critics to lay off blossoming Carrick

ALEX FERGUSON wants Michael Carrick’s critics to start concentrating on the positive aspects of the midfielder’s game.

After a slow start to life at Manchester United, Carrick is finally starting to come into his own.

The £18.6 million (€27.7 million) summer signing from Tottenham followed up an excellent display at Wigan last week by producing his best Red Devils performance so far in Saturday’s four-goal hammering of Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.

Showing all the range of passing which attracted Ferguson in the first place, Carrick set up Wayne Rooney’s opener with a superb chipped ball beyond the Trotters defence and was then equally precise in finding Louis Saha in the build-up to United’s third.

So, after a couple of months in which many pundits wondered precisely why Ferguson has invested so much money in a player many argue is not quick, hardly a tigerish tackler and does not score that often, the evidence is now forthcoming.

“People are always picking on things players can’t do whereas they should actually be concentrating on the things they can,” said Ferguson.

“Michael is one of those unassuming, quiet guys, who just goes about his job and never gives the ball away.

“But his range of passing can win you games. He has great potential and is a real Manchester United player.”

Carrick is certainly starting to prove he can enjoy a productive central midfield partnership with Paul Scholes, a duo some claimed was too weak defensively to be effective.

The pair are set to continue in the United engine room against FC Copenhagen tomorrow night, even though Ferguson could field a weakened team in the Danish capital knowing a single point from his side’s final three games will be enough to guarantee a place in the last 16.

Having sauntered through their first meeting with Copenhagen earlier in the month, few expect United to face a stiff challenge at the Parken Stadion. However, mindful of United’s recent impressive form, which has brought them seven straight wins in all competitions, Ferguson does not want to risk disrupting the flow by naming a weakened team.

“We want to win the group and we want to keep our form right, so I will play my strongest team,” he declared.

The one major doubt is Patrice Evra, who limped out of the Bolton win with an ankle injury.

Ferguson has a ready-made alternative in Gabriel Heinze, while Mikael Silvestre, not even in the squad which defeated Bolton, is also capable of filling the left-back berth.

Ferguson feels defensive stability will be the key to sealing a fourth successive European triumph this term.

“If we concentrate and defend properly, I believe we have a very good chance,” the United boss said.