Smalling Wants Long Cup Run

Chris Smalling isn't the type to get carried away too easily, but the defender admits he wants to help the Reds progress as far as possible in this season’s Carling Cup.

Smalling, who arrived at Old Trafford from Fulham in the summer, has made two of his six United appearances in the competition and was one of the Reds’ standout performers in the win against Wolves on Tuesday night.

The 3-2 victory ensures Sir Alex’s men will be in Saturday's fifth round draw and takes them to within three games of a third successive Wembley final.

“After the last round, when so many big teams went out, we knew we had a good chance [to go all the way],” Smalling said. “For a lot of us new boys who don’t play that often it’s great to be part of a cup run. It’s great experience and we don’t want it to end.”

Tuesday’s tie would have proved a valuable addition to Smalling’s footballing education. After a drab first half, the game exploded into life and featured five second-half goals.

“As soon as we saw the Wolves team-sheet was full of a lot of regulars we knew it would be a good test and I enjoyed it.

“In the first half we had to keep our concentration levels high. You know that one lapse of concentration is all it takes and it’s a completely different game. We stuck it out and we didn’t concede any goals. The emphasis in the second half was to create a bit more and try and play cutting-edge balls in the final third and I think we did that.”

The winner arrived courtesy of in-form forward Javier Hernandez, who’d only entered the fray on 81 minutes. But despite his late introduction, Smalling wasn’t surprised to see the Mexican wrap up the victory.

“It had to be him,” he said. “He’s on fire at the moment. When he came on we knew that [we just had to] get him a chance. Gibbo played a great ball and then Chicha ran on through and finished. With that shimmy he did I think he faked all of us.

“It’s great to go through to the next round because now we’re only a couple of games away from Wembley.”