Carrick: Rashford Is Here To Stay

Michael Carrick insists Marcus Rashford is "here to stay" in the Manchester United first team after the youngster once again showed quality and maturity beyond his years in the Reds' Emirates FA Cup replay win over West Ham United.

Rashford's brilliant finish on 54 minutes was his sixth goal of the season and another vital strike alongside his dramatic efforts against Arsenal and Manchester City.

Carrick spoke to MUTV after the Reds booked a spot at Wembley in the semi-finals with Wednesday's 2-1 win at Upton Park and he was full of praise for Rashford's attitude since joining the senior squad.

"It’s incredible. It’s so good to see young lads come in, do well and take their chance. Not in his wildest dreams could he have predicted the last two or three months that he’s had," said Carrick.

"He’s still got his feet on his ground though. He keeps coming in, he doesn’t change, he works hard, he listens, he’s willing to learn and I think he’s got a great chance of staying at the top for a long time.

"I don’t think it’s a flash in the plan, in and out. I think he’s here to stay and goals like that… we’ll welcome more of them!"

Carrick also spoke of his personal delight at edging a step closer to FA Cup glory and a chance to complete his set of domestic medals.

"I’m delighted. It means a lot," he told MUTV. "I’m desperate to go further in this competition.

"It was a long last ten minutes in the match, but we got there. We defended well enough and David’s [De Gea] helped us. We probably should have been comfortable really, the way the game went for us in the second half, but we’ll take that."

The midfielder was in the United side which lost the 2007 final to Chelsea in extra-time and while he didn't play in the semi-final defeat to Everton in 2009, he admits that loss still hurts.

"We were talking about that [Everton] before the game actually, a couple of the boys," said Carrick. "We felt that was one that got away from us. We haven’t done well enough in this competition over recent years and we’re well aware of that. We’re desperate to go all the way this time.

"It’s been a season of setbacks and then good results, it’s so frustrating but we keep trying to get that consistency. We have a couple of good games and then a bad one sets us back.

"This is an opportunity for us now, it’s a one-off game. We’ll go down there and look forward to it but getting to Wembley is not the end. It’s a semi-final so we haven’t achieved anything yet."