Edging towards an eighth century of United appearances, Ryan Giggs knows what it takes to make it at Old Trafford – and the veteran winger liked what he saw from the Reds’ youngsters against Middlesbrough.

Danny Welbeck, Ben Amos and Manucho made their first senior appearances, with Rafael Da Silva and Rodrigo Possebon making their full debuts, as the Reds turned in a swaggering 3-1 victory to reach the fourth round of the Carling Cup.

“As a Manchester United player you know you’ve got the ability, it’s whether you’ve got the temperament, and I thought the young lads who came in showed that temperament,” Ryan told MUTV after the match.

“You can freeze. It’s a big stage, Old Trafford, but the young lads did really well. I think from start to finish. We started really well and looked sharp. It was a really good performance.”

The evening was marred by Emanuel Pogatetz’s lunging challenge on Rodrigo Possebon – a tackle which earned the defender a red card and prompted a lengthy delay while the Brazilian received treatment – but Giggs was impressed by how the Reds reacted.

“An injury like that can affect a team, but I thought we came back from it well,” he said. “We kept the ball and, with them being down to ten men, we knew the chances would come.

"The movement of the team and the chances we created were really positive. And these were players who perhaps haven’t played regularly, so there were a lot of positives.”