Carrick: Scholes A Genius

Michael Carrick has labelled Paul Scholes a 'genius' on his fellow midfielder's 38th birthday.

The former West Ham and Tottenham man admits he has learned from playing and training alongside his veteran team-mate.

"It is fantastic to play with Paul Scholes," said Carrick. "He is a genius. We all know what he can do. A lot of them you simply cannot teach. You can learn and take things from his game, as I have done since I have been here.

"Whether he realises or not, he has helped me enormously just by watching him and taking things in. But there are some things only he can do. It is fabulous to play with him. I have enjoyed it immensely since I came here."

Carrick will make his 400th career league appearance if he is involved in Saturday's encounter at Norwich.

"It's the first I have heard of that," he admitted. "It is one of those things. I have been playing for a number of years and the games add up. It is not something I look for.

"It is more about the trophies, what people win and what they can achieve. Maybe at the end of your career you can look back and see what you have done. But at the moment, it is just about winning trophies for me."