MICHAEL Carrick is backing Sammy Silvera to put his Portsmouth struggles behind him and have a "big end to the season" at Blackpool - and says the winger can still be a success at Middlesbrough in the future.

Silvera endured a difficult first half of the campaign on loan at Fratton Park, with Portsmouth's fans turning on the Aussie winger and chanting for him to be "sent back" to Boro.

Boro understandably activated their January recall clause but only after they'd lined up another move for Silvera, with Blackpool, managed by Steve Bruce, who Carrick knows well, deemed a good fit to try and help the winger get back on track.

Even though the Portsmouth stint didn't go to plan, Carrick says Silvera will still have learnt an awful lot from his time on the south coast.

“It’s the loan situation where sometimes it goes to plan and you play loads of games, sometimes it goes to plan in terms of having a different experience and learning from that," says Boro's boss.

"You’ve got to use whatever experience to help you kick on to the next level. Sammy’s had some good games, but is obviously frustrated that he didn’t play nowhere near as much as he wanted to, and certainly as we did as well.

"So the plan now is that hopefully, and we believe he will, go to Blackpool, Steve [Bruce] will look after him, and he’ll have a big finish to the season.”

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After the decision was made to recall Silvera from Portsmouth, the winger was involved in the discussions over where he would head for the second half of the season.

Carrick said: “There are a couple of sides to it. We wouldn’t make an option available to Sammy if we didn’t think it was a positive or good move. But certainly, Sammy should make the decision.

"He’s our player but he’s an individual. I know we all get caught up with football this and football that, it’s important of course it is, but I think when it comes to things like this, there’s the human side to consider.

"There is a lot goes into these kinds of decisions and for Sammy, what he feels is best, what kind of club he wants to go to, what kind of manager he wants to play for, players he’s got to work with day in, day out etc. It’s a group decision for things like that."

Silvera featured in 37 of Boro's 46 Championship games last season after joining the club from Central Coast Mariners in the summer of 2023. With game-time not guaranteed this season, Boro felt he was best served featuring regularly elsewhere, which they hope is now the case at Blackpool.

But Carrick insists Silvera can return to the Riverside in the summer and still make a success of his Boro career.

He said: “For sure. You can never write anything off. He’s our player Sammy, and he did a lot of good things last season.

"I think that’s the nature of the loans at different times. Finding that pathway in your career. Certainly, he’s our player.”