MICHAEL Carrick hopes his Middlesbrough players can add their names to the Riverside history books when Chelsea head for Teesside in next month’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

Boro’s reward for Tuesday night’s impressive victory over Port Vale is a two-legged clash with Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the last four.

Chelsea will clearly be huge favourites going into the tie but Carrick is relishing the challenge and says Boro aren’t content with settling on what they’ve already achieved in the competition, reaching the semi-finals for the first time since lifting the trophy 20 seasons ago.

Boro have four crucial Championship games ahead of the first leg – which will take place in the week commencing January 8 – and an FA Cup third round tie against Aston Villa and Carrick’s focus is on the immediate challenges ahead.

But once the game comes around, Boro will be looking for a repeat of 1998 when Bryan Robson’s Championship side stunned Liverpool in the League Cup, winning the second leg on a famous Riverside night and booking a date against Chelsea in the final.

“It’s like when we said before the game the other night, the timing of opportunities when you look back over your time as a supporter or working in football and certainly for players and coaches,” said Carrick.

“The standout times, moments, atmospheres, games, for whatever reason that may be, sometimes come in cup competitions. For me, these are the ones that draw that passion, that energy and that love of the game. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll give it our best shot and the supporters will hopefully play a huge part in that. And hopefully we can make it something that everyone remembers.”

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Chelsea booked their place in the last four in dramatic fashion, scoring a last minute equaliser against Newcastle before knocking out Eddie Howe’s side on penalties. Pochettino’s side are languishing in mid-table in the Premier League and are an extremely expensive work in progress, but they’ll be fancied to beat Boro over two legs.

Carrick’s side have handled the pressure of expectation well in the Carabao Cup so far this season, beating four lower league sides on their way to the last four. They’ll be the underdogs against Chelsea but that changes nothing in Carrick’s mind.

He said: “It’s about trying to get through. We’re at this stage because we deserve to be here. There’s a chance to progress to the next round. It’s not about what kind of pressure, the expectation is we’ll perform our best and see where it takes us.

“It’s the draw we’ve been given so we’ll look forward to it. It’s a huge challenge, they have a great squad of players, huge talent, terrific manager. You get to these stages, you expect to play top teams. We’ll look forward to it.”