MICHAEL CARRICK can vividly remember his first appearance at St James’ Park, the home of the club he supported as a child. It was his senior debut for West Ham United, and as he now freely admits, the occasion was “too much” for him. He helped his side draw 2-2, but was a million miles away from being at his best.

A couple of weeks ago, Carrick feared the same might happen with Sam Greenwood. The Middlesbrough midfielder was a boyhood Sunderland fan, raised in a family of Black Cats supporters, and had spent his formative footballing years at the Academy of Light. Back on Wearside, in the heat of a Wear-Tees derby, might Greenwood freeze just as Carrick had a couple of decades earlier?

In hindsight, he need not have worried. Greenwood not only handled the unique demands that were made of him a fortnight ago, he positively flourished, scoring the goal that set Boro on their way to a thrilling 4-0 victory and excelling in a wide-attacking role on the left-hand side. What could have proved a difficult afternoon became an unforgettable one. Like the whole of the jubilant away end, his manager was hugely impressed.

“It wasn’t an easy situation,” admitted Carrick, who is set to keep Greenwood in his starting line-up for tomorrow’s home game with Birmingham City. “I mentioned to Sam before the game, my full debut for West Ham was against Newcastle, who I obviously supported.

“It was at St James’ Park and I didn’t quite have the impact that Sam had. We ended up drawing 2-2 and I wasn’t the best to be honest, but I found a way to get through it. I tried to pass my own experience on to Sam because that game ended up becoming too big for me. I found I was thinking about the wrong things.

“Sam certainly didn’t do that. It’s not easy to be in that position, but his focus, professionalism and maturity to deal with all of that was fantastic. Obviously, he scored the goal, but even without the goal, if you look at his overall performance and the way in which he handled the whole day so well, then it was a real credit to him.”

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When Greenwood was emerging through the youth ranks at Sunderland, he established himself as one of the most highly-rated and sought-after teenagers in the country.

A host of big clubs made attempts to sign him, before he eventually joined Arsenal at the age of 16 for a reported fee of around £500,000. Two years later, and he moved on again to Leeds United, where he spent three years making just nine senior starts.

His move to Middlesbrough, initially on loan but with the Teessiders able to trigger a permanent transfer for £1.5m at any point before the end of the season, represents the opportunity for a new start, and the evidence of his last couple of appearances, the 21-year-old, who can play in any position across the frontline, is clearly determined to make the most of his time as a Boro player.

“I can only take Sam for what I’ve seen of him here, and he’s been great to work with,” said Carrick. “He’s improved a lot since he’s been here in terms of fitness and sharpness.

“He had a stop-start pre-season, so we knew we had to be patient with him. We understood where he was at, and now we’re really excited to see what he can bring and what he can achieve, not just for now, but of course also moving forward in his career.

“He’s got his feet on the ground, he works hard and he’s humble. He has an opportunity here, like a lot of the boys of a similar age. He’s trying to carve out a career for himself, and I hope, in the best possible way, he and the rest of the lads are all desperate to do well.”