Michael Carrick won pretty much everything there was to win in his club playing career with Manchester United and so it might be a surprise that the FA Cup was one that very nearly evaded him.

A beaten finalist in his debut season at Old Trafford, there came two more semi-final appearances before he finally got his hand on the oldest cup trophy in club football in 2016 - just two years before his retirement. It was under the management of Louis van Gaal and is a final maybe best remembered for THAT Alan Pardew dance.

For Carrick though, finally winning the FA Cup after a trophy-laden career had special significance for the now Middlesbrough boss. “It was an incredible day for me winning it because I’d missed out on it one or two times before that.

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“You never take anything for granted and there was certainly no assumption that just because we had a level of success we should win it. But it was one of the better days, for sure. My kids were old enough at that stage to experience it and go through it, so it was an unbelievable experience to share with my family. It was a special day.

“I hope it still stands out [The FA Cup] because I think it’s a special competition with a rich history - big highs, lows, big moments for lower teams and unbelievable days and memories created. There’s a responsibility to carry that on. I love the competition.”

It’s for that very reason that Carrick will take Saturday’s clash with Blackburn Rovers very seriously. It’s no secret that Boro’s priority this season is the league, and trying to win promotion back to the Premier League. For Carrick, that doesn’t mean Boro can’t also enjoy a good run in the FA Cup - particularly given the previous two attempts ended at this stage on both occasions thanks to tough draws against Brighton and Aston Villa.

“We’ve had a couple of tough draws in the last couple of years - arguably the toughest at the time on both occasions against the form sides in the country,” Carrick said. “I think we learned a lot from both games actually. They were good experiences.

“It’s what the cup throws up. We had a good run in the Carabao Cup last year and that in itself gives you good emotions and feelings, so we’ll certainly look forward to this one. That’s not to say it’s an easy game by any stretch. Blackburn are a good team on a good run of form. But we’ll certainly be looking to win.”

The game at the Riverside, which kicks off at an earlier time of 12 pm due to international broadcast, comes just over a month since Rovers were last on Teesside. In an incredible November for Boro, John Eustace’s side came to the Riverside and frustrated Boro’s in-form attack to take a 1-0 win back to Lancashire.

“They’re a really good team and made it difficult for us, albeit on a night we weren’t at our best,” Carrick said ahead of this quick reunion. “They’ve had some terrific results though and John has done a really good job to get them in and around it with us up there.

“What Saturday looks like we’ll have to see - what team they put out, how they go about it, we’ll see. But the main focus is on us and what we want to get out of the game. How we approach the game and put in a good performance.

“We’ll definitely take it seriously because I have a lot of love and respect for the competition. We’ve got to make a call on certain players and how the team might look, that’s natural. But we have a good squad and have rotated for league games as well. So it’s something we look at, but we’re definitely taking the game seriously.”