Last updated 14:58, Thursday, 28 August 2008

EVEN in the ruins of Carlisle United’s Carling Cup campaign there could be found one or two pieces of encouragement.

Young gun: Highly-rated Gary Madine, 18

Not the least of them was the latest evidence that Gary Madine is here to stay as a young player of genuine promise.

Some 20 minutes after QPR had completed their 4-0 dismantling of the Blues on Tuesday night, 18-year-old Madine was lingering in the Loftus Road reception when he was tapped on the shoulder by a seasoned member of the strikers’ union.

Alan McInally, of Aston Villa and Scotland renown, was in west London reporting for Sky Sports, and while it had been far from the best of nights for Carlisle and Madine, the pundit saw in the big teenager some attributes worth remarking on.

It was a brief exchange, but in McInally’s enthusiastic words of support to Madine there was yet another sign that United have a young talent worth nurturing; and one whose reputation is spreading.

McInally’s breezy pep-talk was timely indeed, since a subsequent chat with Madine revealed the teenager to be in no way content with his performance against QPR and, in particular, his imposing marker Damion Stewart.

Unquestionably, Madine gave the towering defender some awkward aerial moments, particularly in the first half before Iain Dowie’s cosmopolitan strike force eventually cut loose. Yet here was Madine’s own take on his evening’s work: “I think I played into his hands, to be honest. He had me where he wanted me.

“It wasn’t the best night for us. QPR looked sharper than us. They’ve got different quality players than we normally face, and their foreign players looked really good.

“They are the biggest team I’ve played against so far, and definitely the best.” You applaud his modesty, but still the mind rolls back to the 45th minute when, with the game still goalless, Madine’s bustling presence drew what seemed to be an anxious foul in the penalty area from QPR defender Matthew Connolly.

In the wake of what happened after the break, it’s far-fetched to suggest that the game would have been utterly transformed had Keith Hill awarded United a spot-kick. For the record, though, Madine insists there ought to have been no argument.

“When I went past the defender, he grabbed my arm and kicked my legs,” he said. “But the referee said he didn’t see it and neither did the linesman. They just waved it away.

“In the first half the QPR players were getting on each other’s backs the longer it went on and they weren’t winning.

“If we had got that penalty they might have lost a bit of confidence, but the goal at the start of the second half got their tails up and they kicked on from there. It wasn’t a good night in the end but we can learn from the experience.”

Tuesday night was Madine’s first involvement in the first-team this season, as Ward acted on his belief that the 18-year-old is pushing his senior rivals hard for a starting place.

He is likely to return to the ranks when Yeovil visit on Saturday - a place on the bench is the best he can expect - but he acknowledges the value of his chance to learn from illustrious colleagues like Michael Bridges on a daily basis.

“He’s a quality player,” said Madine, who has now partnered Bridges in the reserves and first-team this campaign. “If he’s got something to tell you, he’ll tell you.

“There are lots of experienced players I can learn from here.

“I wasn’t on the bench last Saturday, but Greg (Abbott) said if I did well in the reserves, he would try and get me involved at QPR. I started the game so he did what he said he would.

“The gaffer just told me to relax and put myself about, although I do get really nervous.

“Hopefully I can keep being involved with the first team now. QPR are going to be up there in the Championship this season and it was a tough place to play. But if we can keep our run in the league going, we should be ok.”