Michael Carrick derby-day message as Boro look to gain promotion edge on Sunderland
GLASS half-full or glass half-empty? This month’s transfer activity has injected a large amount of excitement into life at Middlesbrough, but the league table ahead of tomorrow’s Wear-Tees derby with Sunderland nevertheless underlines the scale of the challenge that exists in the second half of the season.
Seventeen points adrift of second-placed Sheffield United with 17 games to play, albeit with a game in hand, the battle for automatic promotion feels like it might well already be over. When it comes to the play-off positions, though, the scrap remains in full flow.
Boro head into tomorrow’s meeting with Sunderland 11 points adrift of the Black Cats, who sit fourth. They are only a point behind fifth-placed Blackburn Rovers, though, and only seven points clear of 16th-placed Oxford United, who will still feel like they could scrape into the top six with a strong end to the season.
The battle for a place in the Premier League promises to be intense, and while there is understandable frustration at some of the points that Boro have tossed away this season, Michael Carrick has seen enough to be convinced that his side are capable of being a major factor in the promotion fight.
“I think what we have achieved at certain times in certain games gives you that taste of what we could be or should be,” said Carrick. “So, when you don’t quite hit that, you end up a little bit disappointed.
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“It’s getting a gauge of the whole thing. If we hadn’t had those highs, if we were on the way up without having hit those heights, it’d be seeing being sixth as a positive.
“You understand what I’m saying? It feels disappointing, but I take it as a real positive that we know what we can produce. We’re certainly capable of doing it, it’s just about putting it into practice.
“It is what it is. We feel we’ve given points away in games we should have won, so it comes down to consistency. That’s the challenging part. It’s clear why we are where we are. We could be lower, we could definitely be higher. What’s potentially there for us, it’s that bit that really encourages me.”
Tomorrow’s game feels like a hugely significant marker for the remainder of the campaign, regardless of the regional bragging rights that would accompany a win over Sunderland. Win, and Boro will have the Black Cats firmly in their sights. Lose, and it will feel as though the top four are away and gone with only two play-off places still up for grabs.
“It's an important game for many reasons, and we're well aware of that,” said Carrick, who is likely to hand debuts to Mark Travers and Morgan Whittaker as well as also starting with Ryan Giles. “The end of the season is going to take care of itself, let's take this game for what it is, commit to it and give it everything we can.
“It's a special game to be part of, and there's another nine days before our next game (at Sheffield United). We're all in for this game and looking forward to it.”
