Sir Alex Ferguson mixed youth with experience to ensure victory over Premiership side Middlesbrough in the 3rd Round of the Carling Cup on Tuesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has taken the post as the Reserves’ coach, was very proud of their performance, and believes we have several young players in the ranks capable of cutting it at United.

“On Tuesday I was very proud of Danny Welbeck, Ben Amos, Rafael Da Silva and Rodrigo Possebon,” Solskjaer said. “They showed the character and temperament to handle playing in front of a 50,000-plus crowd at Old Trafford. We teach them good habits and I have been delighted that when some of them have gone off to train with the first team, I have been getting good reports back from the manager, Mick Phelan and Rene Meulensteen about them.”

As well as the starting players, Darron Gibson, Tom Cleverley, Richard Eckersley, David Gray and Ron-Robert Zieler all had a spot on the bench. Solskjaer believes that this current crop of youngsters has strong potential for making the first team over the next few years.

“There are huge demands on players at United, but I think there are loads in the Under-16s and Under-18s and the Reserve team who we will see play in the first team,” he added. “It is not like they won’t get a chance here. It is the tradition and we have some great players coming through who will keep that tradition going. We have a good set of players who we hope and think have a chance of making it. They have sessions with the first team and they come back from them with a renewed energy. They want to be training and playing with the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. That’s what they dream about. They know from the manager’s track record that if they do well they will stay in his thoughts and plans. It is important young players do get a chance and they will here.”