DARRON Gibson must now take the Darren Fletcher route to a regular United berth after his two-goal Carling Cup success.

The Republic of Ireland midfielder was the long- distance hero of the Reds' quarter-final victory against Spurs on Tuesday.

And former Republic and United striker Frank Stapleton believes the 22-year-old has the perfect example at United to fire his ambition.

"Darron cannot afford to stand still now or go backwards. He's got good potential and he has given himself a good chance," Frank told M.E.N. Sport.

"He's got ability, there is no doubt about that. But the question has been when is he going to make that step up and compete with the likes of Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes in United's midfield. Fletcher is a great illustration of someone who made that step up to another level.

"He used to be in a similar position to Darron when he was around the same age. He was considered one of the fringe players who got games in the domestic cup competitions.

"But Fletcher has taken the challenge by the scruff of the neck and is now one of the best midfield players in the country.

"Gibson has to start thinking the same way. The penny has to drop with him and he has to improve to a level where he is considered for Premier League and Champions League matches.

United standard

"He did his case no harm whatsoever against Tottenham on Tuesday night but that cannot be it. Does he want to be one of those only considered really for the Carling Cup or FA Cup, or does he want to be consistently in the running and selected for the league and Europe?

"There should be no going back for him now. He has set a standard with his overall play and goals against Spurs.

"After losing Cristiano Ronaldo's goals much has been said about more coming from midfield and he has proved he has it as a weapon. He's got to build on it.

"As a one-off match he has to be delighted with his performance. But the next question is can he force the manager to consider him ever week and can he do it regularly in the Premier League.

"I am sure he has the ambition and it is within his capabilities.

"He now has to make the manager sit up and take notice."

From his crisp strike at Southampton in the FA Cup third round last January that gave him his first senior goal, to his 20-yard volley at Derby County, his sensational long-range screamer at Hull on the final day of the season, to his two brilliant finishes against Spurs, Gibson has proved that he has an eye-catching technique for ball- striking.

Shooting skill

"It is something of a lost art but Darron is reviving it," added Stapleton.

"He can strike a ball well and can hit it hard. It's a mixture of craft, control, placement and blockbusting power. It is a terrific weapon. Not many have that ability.

"But that is not all Darron has got. He's also a prompter in midfield as well.

"He's got to be encouraged by what he did against Spurs and now look to build on it."

Gibson, who was born in Derry but invoked the Good Friday Agreement to pursue his preference to play for the Republic of Ireland, should have more opportunities in the weeks to come to press his claim for a regular first-team berth.

Next week's Champions League trip to Wolfsburg is an obvious one, while Ferguson has already pledged to stick with Tuesday night's squad for the two-legged semi-final next month.

But once the Carling Cup campaign is over, Ferguson will have limited scope for experiment until the destination of this season's title is determined.

Little wonder, therefore, Gibson is putting everything into his work on the training ground, especially in the shooting department.

"We have been working all week in training on quick play and getting shots off around the box," he revealed.

"It paid off with those two goals."

A. Paul Scholes, Bradford 0 United 4, League, Valley Parade, 25.03.00
David Beckham pings a corner from the left out to the edge of the area, and Scholesy explodes into a full volley as the ball drops. His shot dips and swerves as it tears through the air towards the bottom left-hand corner of Matt Clarke’s net.

B. Paul Scholes, Middlesbrough 3 United 4, League, Riverside Stadium, 11.4.00
Does nobody on the Boro coaching staff watch Match of the Day? Scholes runs onto Gary Neville's square pass and smashes an unstoppable shot between two defenders and as close to the inside of the right-hand post as is possible.

C. David Beckham, West Ham 2 United 2, League, Upton Park, 26.08.00
Thirty yards from goal, our deadball king strikes a familiar pose - back arched, left arm out, standing leg seeming sure to buckle - and bends the ball viciously from a position outside Shaka Hislop’s left-hand post into the top corner.

D. David Beckham, Man City 0 United 1, League, Maine Road, 18.11.00
Again the technique was flawless and the opposition keeper was left floundering as Becks arced the ball from right to left, wide of City's pathetic excuse for a wall and across the helpless Nicky Weaver.

E. Paul Scholes, United 3 Panathinaikos 1, Champions League, OT, 21.11.00
After a glance at the keeper – off his line, just! – Scholes arcs the sweetest of chips from right to left into the far corner. The perfect way to cap a 32-pass move – such simplicity of conception and elegance of execution.

F. David Beckham, West Ham 3 United 5, League, Upton Park, 16.03.02
Scholes sweeps threads through a delightful ball from United’s half. It’s inch perfect, straight into Becks’ path, and the right winger doesn’t have to break stride as he chips the bouncing ball beautifully over David James into the far corner.

G. Ruud Van Nistelrooy, United 3 Fulham 0, League, Old Trafford, 22.03.03
Collecting a pass in his own half, Ruud turns away from Sylvain Legwinski and sets off with purpose towards goal. Four players attempt to stop him but the RVN juggernaut roars on regardless. He takes a touch and sidefoots it past Maik Taylor.

H. David Beckham, Everton 1 United 2, League, Goodison Park, 11.05.03
Becks lines up a freekick towards the right corner of the penalty area. Surely not shooting territory? Wrong - in his last game for the Reds, Beckham sweeps the ball from right to left, leaving Richard Wright rooted to the spot.

I. Wayne Rooney, United 3 Middlesbrough 0, FA Cup, Old Trafford, 29.01.05
Wazza meets Louis Saha’s header with the outside of his right foot, bending a volley into the top corner. An outstanding strike, voted Goal of the Season 04/05.

J. Wayne Rooney, United 2 Newcastle 1, League, Old Trafford, 24.04.05
A defender's header drops into the path of Rooney, who wallops the ball first time with every ounce of strength he has. The shot bends and dips before crashing in off the bar.

K. Ruud van Nistelrooy, Charlton 1 United 3, League, The Valley, 19.11.05
Rooney collects the ball inside his own half and barrels 50 yards into the box before conjuring an outrageous cross with the outside of his right foot. It pops up to Ruud, who takes the ball on his chest, pirouettes and thunders a volley into the top corner.

L. Paul Scholes, Villa 0 United 3, League, Villa Park, 23.12.06
A Ryan Giggs corner is headed high up and out of the box… and that’s where the good news stops for Villa, because Paul Scholes booms a terrific volley that thunders in off the underside of the crossbar.

M. Wayne Rooney, United 2 Portsmouth 1, FA Cup, OT, 27.01.07
A top first touch earns Wayne space 25 yards from goal, he advances menacingly and then fools everyone – not least David James in the Pompey goal – by executing a sublime chip into the top corner. A classic counter-attack.

N. Wayne Rooney, United 4 Bolton 1, League, OT, 17.03.07
A Bolton throw-in falls to Ronaldo inside the Reds' box before a neat piece of interplay with Rooney sends the Portuguese into enemy territory. With defenders backing off, Ronny slips the ball to his left, Wayne takes a touch and dinks the ball over the goalkeeper. Devastating.

O. Nani, United 4 Middlesbrough 1, League, OT, 27.10.07
With the game barely two minutes old, Nani skips past one defender, jinks inside another and unleashes a scorcher past Schwarzer from all of 30 yards. Pure power.

P. Cristiano Ronaldo, United 2 Portsmouth 0, League, OT, 30.01.08
The Portuguese flyer takes the free-kick to a new height with this searing 30-yard arrow that gets up over an eight-man wall with ease and dips just enough to fly in a fraction below the crossbar. If there was a Noble Set-Piece Prize, this would win it.

Q. Paul Scholes, United 1 Barcelona 0, Champions League, OT, 29.04.08
Ronaldo's first chance to open up and run at Barcelona pays off when his run was halted on the edge of the area, and the ball falls to Scholes to strike a humdinger on the bounce right into the top corner. The perfect start to a gripping semi-final second leg.

R. Federico Macheda, United 3 Aston Villa 2, League, OT, 05.04.09
The 17 year-old debutant becomes an instant Old Trafford hero when he scores a sensational injury-time winner. Receiving the ball with his back to goal, he wrong-foots his marker before curling a superb shot past Brad Friedel and into the far corner.

S. Ronaldo, Porto 0 United 1, Champions League, Estadio do Dragao, 15.04.09
Cristiano has gunpowder in his boots as he booms a 40-yard cannonball into the net. The Porto keeper doesn’t have a prayer, despite the distance.

T. Ronaldo, Arsenal 1 United 3, Champions League, Emirates Stadium, 05.05.09
The Reds' number seven impishly backheels a pass to Park before high-tailing it towards the Gunners' area. He reaches his destination at the same time as Rooney's perfectly-weighted pass, and drills a fine shot high into Almunia's goal.