Michael Carrick's 'no massive jump' insistence as he discusses Middlesbrough's goalscoring form

Michael Carrick insists there hasn't been a massive jump in terms of performance, as he was asked if he could explain why Middlesbrough had suddenly found their goalscoring touch.

Boro's largely good performances were not being rewarded as much as needed in the early weeks of the season, largely because Carrick's side struggled to finish off the many chances they were creating. But heading into the international break on the back of two straight wins, Boro appeared to have really turned a corner.

They scored nine goals in those two games - though their newfound ruthless edge might be credited to further back. Though they lost to Coventry City a week before Saturday's Luton win after falling to ten men inside 25 minutes, prior to that they scored three goals at Norwich City, while also probing throughout before finding a breakthrough against a stubborn Sheffield United side who have the best defence in the league.

READ MORE:Nine Middlesbrough players away on international duty - when and where they play

READ MORE:Middlesbrough set for financial boost as Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers gets England call-up

Asked if he could explain what had changed for his side, Carrick admitted: “We’ve had that creativity and build-up for some time now. Lately, the boys have been more ruthless and appear to have a good feeling about scoring goals. And we’re sharing it amongst the group as well, which is great.

"So in that sense, it doesn’t feel like a massive jump, other than in the actual number of goals. I feel a lot of the in-between has been good, though. I think sometimes that’s just football. It’s why we love it because you can’t always explain or find an answer for why. You can have all the best intentions but it just doesn’t quite go for you.

"Same at the other end. They [Luton] had moments in the game which, at other times in the season, it’s gone against us. It doesn’t necessarily mean the boys are good players or not good players, it’s just tiny margins. You’ve got to keep finding a way to turn them in your favour. This week has been a good week for us. We have a break now, freshen up and look to be even better when we come back."

Boro return to action in a little under a fortnight's time when they travel to Oxford United on November 23. They'll be hoping to win three consecutive games for the first time this season in what is their very first visit to the Kassam Stadium. If they can keep their recent clinical touch it will certainly help.