Owen will score more - M.Carrick

Owen will score more - M.Carrick

Michael Carrick is backing long-time England team-mate Michael Owen to hit the goal trail following his first Manchester United hat-trick on Tuesday night.

Owen emerged the hero from a defiant Red Devils display, Sir Alex Ferguson's men making light of the absence of 14 senior players to overcome German champions Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena.

It was the striker's first Champions League treble since 2003 and confirmed United's status as Group B winners.

For Owen, it was also a nudge in the direction of Fabio Capello with time running out for him to stake a claim for a place in England's World Cup plans.

Even now he only has seven goals to his name this season but Carrick predicts more will follow, which may just earn him a place in Capello's side for the final friendly - likely to be against Egypt at Wembley on March 3 - before the Italian names his provisional squad.

"It was a great achievement," said Carrick. "Scoring a hat-trick away from home in the Champions League doesn't happen so often but it is just what he is all about.

"We always knew he could do it. He has been doing it all his career.

"Hopefully now he can get on a roll and he will continue to score many important goals for us over the next few weeks."

All three were typical Owen goals.

He found enough space when Nani crossed to guide home a close-range header and put United in front just before the break, then evaded a clutch of Wolfsburg defenders to tap home Gabriel Obertan's cross seven minutes from time to seal victory.

Owen's third arrived when he charged clear from halfway in the manner of old after racing onto another short pass from Obertan, before calmly chipping Wolfsburg keeper Diego Benaglio.

"Strikers like scoring goals and hopefully it will give him an extra bit of confidence, not that he needed it," observed Carrick.

"It is good for him to score but it is about what he is contributing as well.

"As long as we are winning and everyone is playing well, we are satisfied."

Carrick has just as much reason to be pleased with himself at the moment as, along with Darren Fletcher, he is one of the men charged with rescuing United from their defensive nightmare.

First as a makeshift central defender at West Ham, then as a sweeper on Tuesday night Carrick has slotted into the new role with authority.

The 28-year-old was very fortunate to escape without conceding a penalty for his lunge at Makoto Hasebe, but it was far from the disaster Ferguson might have feared when he looked at the list of absentees on the flight to Germany.

"I have never headed the ball as much," Carrick laughed.

"It is not the physical side that is hard about playing centre-half, it is the mental.

"You need to maintain concentration and focus at all times. I just put myself in the right positions and hoped for the best.

"We rode our luck at times but, as a back three, I thought we played well."

As Ferguson expects Nemanja Vidic to have recovered from the flu virus that prevented him from travelling, there is at least some good news ahead of Saturday's trip to Aston Villa.

Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Ryan Giggs will also return to face Martin O'Neill's men, giving Ferguson a more familiar matchday squad to choose from.

However, Wes Brown is unlikely to have recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered at Upton Park, and Rio Ferdinand, John O'Shea and Jonny Evans have been ruled out until January.

Little wonder Ferguson has been linked with a move for out-of-contract former England star Sol Campbell, who is available when the January transfer window opens.

Whether a deal will materialise is open to debate given Campbell has played just once since leaving Portsmouth last summer, and could be lacking the required match fitness to solve United's immediate problems.

In addition, loan deals for promising defenders Tom Cleverley and Craig Cathcart run out at Watford in January, so they could both be called upon.

"It might be the end for me," said Carrick, without being aware of Ferguson's assessment.

"It will be assessed later in the week when we see what the body count is like."