Leeds keeper Carson itching for action

Scott Carson has never stepped foot inside Old Trafford, but he will throw himself into Leeds’ relegation fight later this month with the unenviable task of a full debut at Premiership champions Manchester United.

Goalkeeper Carson’s initial taste of top-flight football on Saturday was hardly the stuff of which dreams are made as his first touch was to pick the ball out of the net.

With Leeds trailing 2-0 at home to Middlesbrough, Paul Robinson was sent off in the 88th minute for bringing down Michael Ricketts in the area, thrusting 18-year-old Carson into the spotlight.

Ricketts duly converted the penalty to give Boro a 3-0 win, but Robinson’s red card means he now serves a one-match ban – Leeds’ trip to bitter rivals United on February 21.

For a rookie keeper playing for a rock-bottom team, it promises to be a baptism of fire for Carson, but one he is relishing as he said: “Playing against Manchester United would be a dream debut for me.

“It’s just hard to believe. I thought it was a dream when I was going on against Boro, but I haven’t even been to Old Trafford, let alone played there - so it really will be my first appearance.

“Hopefully, we won’t get beat 5-0 and I can make a name for myself in the game. It will be a good opportunity in one of the best leagues in the world.”

Carson will have just two reserve matches in which to sharpen himself up before the chance to prove he has what it takes to step into Robinson’s shoes.

With Robinson almost certainly on his way to Spurs in the summer after a move this week foundered due to Premier League regulations, Carson knows he could be Leeds’ new number one next season.

He will at least be hoping his performance at United is more memorable than his few minutes against Boro as he added on the club’s official website, www.lufc.co.uk: “When the penalty incident happened I just thought it would be a yellow card for Robbo.

“Then I saw it was red and I knew I was going on. We were 2-0 down at that point with five minutes left and I just thought I couldn’t do anything seriously wrong – unfortunately I dived the wrong way.

“But it was good to get my debut out of the way. You don’t know what to expect when you go on, but I got a taste of it, so hopefully I can maybe get a couple of games in.

“With Paul suspended I might get my chance now. I will just try and get my confidence from the reserve games.

“I’ll treat them as if I was making my debut, so I just have to keep concentrating and try and get some good confidence.”

Mark Viduka, meanwhile, has urged his Leeds team-mates not to throw in the towel in their battle to beat the drop.

Viduka is due to return to the starting line-up for this Saturday’s clash at Aston Villa after missing the last two matches on compassionate leave.

The 28-year-old returned to training on Monday after spending three weeks at home in Melbourne where his father Joe is seriously-ill with a heart condition.

During his time away, Leeds stretched their losing streak to six games with defeats at Southampton and at Elland Road to Middlesbrough to leave themselves six points adrift at the foot of the table.

Supporters will be hoping Viduka can help turn the tide, and he is adamant the club’s cause is not a lost one as he said: “I saw what happened here whilst I was away.

“They didn’t televise the games, but I saw the results and read the reports in the papers.

“Things are difficult now, of course they are. But we’re going to give it our best shot. There’s nothing else we can do.

“Either we feel sorry for ourselves and start to drop or we can keep believing. Basically there is nothing to lose, we just have to fight for every game.

“I hope that is the spirit amongst the other players. I’ve only been back a few days, but I hope it is.

“I hope we can all realise that it is up to us to fight our way out of this trouble.”