Michael Carrick has explained how a range of factors ultimately influenced his decision to not pursue a new centre-back in January - the main one being his trust in his current options.

Boro managed to make George Edmundson’s move a permanent one but were weakened as far as numbers are concerned after deciding to sell Matt Clarke to Derby County. It’s understood that together with the recruitment team, Carrick did assess options in the market after being presented with a list of centre-backs that might be available.

But after a window that had already seen six new arrivals to have to embed and a squad that had a full quota of five loanees, Carrick made the decision to trust in the options he has.

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Having previously explained that he hoped to have long-term absentee Darragh Lenihan back before the end of the season, Carrick explained of his transfer decision: “Darragh is part of the group. I know he hasn’t been able to play for quite some time, but he’s definitely part of the group. He came back in pre-season and looked really good, but then unfortunately had a setback, which he’s still trying to come back from.

“Luke Ayling has played at centre-back for us. He’s played there two or three times, and we’ve won the two of three games that he’s played there. Jonny can do it as well, when he’s fit, and we’ve got three fantastic centre-halves that we’re really happy with. That’s why we made the decisions that we did (in January). I think we’re covered, in that respect, and we’re happy with what we’ve got.”

In terms of the balance of the squad overall after the window, having had to integrate six new players in, he continued: “The break has been a great opportunity to bed the new players in, and we’ve made the most of it, as you’d expect. The new boys have settled in fantastically well and there’s a good feeling in the group.

“There is certainly a feeling of freshness and re-energised in some ways. But it doesn’t feel new, which is important. That was something we were conscious of, with certain changes that we were making. It can feel too new, but it hasn’t felt like that at all. The boys have settled in, everyone has trained really well and really hard and we feel we’re in a good place and good shape.

“We’re happy with what we’ve got and we’ve got to keep building now. There are reasons for ins and outs in any window and I’m happy with the squad. We feel we’ve got a good balance, have added some good experience and some good talent.”

While Carrick feels content in his defensive options - with Dael Fry returning from a nine-month absence in great form and Rav van den Berg arguably still yet to show his best this season - it cannot be mistaken that Boro have been too vulnerable at the back this season. Though statistics suggests the structure isn’t an issue, given the lack of chances they tend to concede, they ultimately concede too many soft goals that come about from their own mistakes.

On the work being done to rectify that, Carrick said: “The defensive record has to improve, but that’s not just an issue for the back four or the goalkeeper. It’s a team responsibility. It’s the same at the other end. The defenders don’t get a lot of credit when the goals are going in for us, but they have a massive impact on a lot of the goals we score.

“When it comes to defending and keeping the ball out of our own net, it’s about the team as well. It’s hard work. It’s training, it’s analysis, it’s meetings, it’s everything that goes into being better as a team in the key moments, in and around our box. It’s clear that we need to be better at it, but I’m confident we can do that.”