Michael Carrick tells Middlesbrough to have confidence for the Aston Villa test in the FA Cup
The former Manchester United and England midfielder knows his team will be underdogs but is equally aware of the potential for an upset
Last updated 6th Jan 2024
The big day is here as Middlesbrough take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
The high flying Premier League side are visitors to the Riverside.
Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has warned his players they have no chance of knocking Premier League high-fliers Aston Villa out of the FA Cup unless they firmly believe they can.
Former Manchester United and England midfielder Carrick, an FA Cup winner in 2016, knows his team will be underdogs as they head into the tie, but is equally aware of the potential for an upset.
The Boro head coach said: "Listen, you've got to have the belief and the confidence that you can perform and perform well and you're capable of winning the game.
"That's the start; you have to believe it. If you don't believe it, then you haven't got a chance.
"But being realistic, there's a different mental test in some ways when you're the favourite and you're totally expected to win.
"We were talking about the motivation before and how you have to motivate the players. Sometimes that can be the difference.
"But now for us, it's a great opportunity. For the players to test themselves and have a game like that, it's brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
"Hopefully they'll thrive and they'll take the game to another level again and use the experience to become better players and a better team."
Boro, whose focus for the campaign remains promotion, face a tough cup double-header inside four days with big-spending Chelsea due at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final showdown.
Carrick said: "It's big challenge for us. It's great, though, it's fantastic. We've got to enjoy the challenge. For me, you want to play against the best teams and best players individually and as a group.
"Aston Villa are having an unbelievable season so far and have got some really, really good players and are obviously well coached, so it's a big challenge.
"But it's great. It's a one-off game for us this one and we can give it our best and see where it takes us. Football is funny at times, it throws up results that maybe shouldn't happen.
"We know that this is one that probably shouldn't go our way on paper, but we'll do our best to try to flip that."
Boro later announced the signing of Villa midfielder Finn Azaz for an undisclosed fee.
The 23-year-old will arrive at the Riverside Stadium on a four-and-a-half-year contract after starring during an 18-month loan spell at Championship rivals Plymouth.
Dave Roberts is from Boro YouTube channel 'Red Army TV' and he said: "Normally it would be a massive yard stick to test themselves against, but let's not forget about the massive injury crisis. As much as we'd love the fairytale to happen, I think there's a bit of realism among Boro fans.
"We'd love that fairytale outcome but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that important. The last thing you need is a more injury problem, so although it's a fantastic, mouth-watering cup clash, we've got to ask about its importance.
"A full Riverside cheering the boys on will help but let's not forget, this is Aston Villa. They're second in the premiership, they might rest a couple of players but Boro are going through a bit of a tough time at the moment, particularly with injuries."