It's one of the most common Championship cliches that there are no easy games in this division. Perhaps that may be true. But coming out of the two of the tougher games Middlesbrough will play all season, they now have ten games in which they will have a very good opportunity to put a lot of points on the board.

That starts this weekend at home to Millwall, who are winless in five but, with their physically demanding style, perhaps sum up that second-tier cliche more than most. Regardless, for a team with Boro's aspirations this season, winning this, and as many of the nine that follow between now and February 3, is likely to define their season. Put simply, if they want to be a top-six team this season, these are the kind of games they must win.

Going into many of them, including this one against Millwall, with the 'favourites' tag, the task for Boro is to get back to where they were pre-Burnley. They'd won four of their last five games - scoring 18 goals in the process. Having so often not won games they should have this season, that period was Boro finally stepping up and meeting expectations. That must now start again when Millwall visit.

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Carrick said: “There’s a balance. That confidence and authority is something that we always try to play the game with, without taking it easy or expecting it to be easy. We certainly don’t do that. Confidence is a great thing, as is gaining that habit of winning games and getting used to that.

“Sometimes it comes through playing good football, other times you have to find other ways to win. That’s something we want to create to give ourselves the best opportunity to perform well. That instinct and nature of playing in a winning team is a great habit to get used to.

“We’ve got to find that momentum and spark to carry us through. Every week is a new challenge and whether you go into the next game in form or not, you always go into the next game on your toes and alive to the challenge. You never take anything for granted, but it’s certainly a good feeling when you know you’re capable of doing it and know you can score goals to win games.

“You’ve always got to respect whatever team is in front of you. We’re certainly not looking too far ahead. We face a Millwall side that are a really tough side to play against. There’s no assuming or taking anything granted. We want to win games and so it’s vital we put in a good performance. They’re a very dangerous side and when you look at the majority of their games, they’ve been super tight. They make it really tough and they’re a good team.”

The Boro boss knows a lot about the mentality that will be required from his side in the next two months, if they want to cement their promotion credentials. For the majority of his playing career, his Manchester United side went into almost every game as favourites to win. As his trophy cabinet proves, they lived up to that billing on the majority of occasions.

On the key to getting that right, Carrick said: “There’s a lot goes into it. The capacity to keep pushing yourself, be at the limit and play on that edge constantly is a real skill and attribute that’s not always easy to get. Just being a good player doesn’t mean it’s easy to keep performing at your top level every week.

“You’ve got to work hard to be ready mentally, ready physically and to keep going again. I think you’ve got to enjoy the challenge and look forward to what’s in front of you. You need to take confidence from the expectation and see it as a positive. It’s a great responsibility to have, and you’ve got to embrace that.”

Boro will have the expectation of Teesside on their shoulders this weekend. But the game was given a fresh twist this week when it was announced that Neil Harris will step down as Lions boss after the game. Having lost their last two, the club legend is determined not to go out on three defeats and his players are likely to be buoyed to help make that a reality for the highly-respected head coach.

“To be honest, it doesn’t impact us,” Carrick said of the rather unique circumstances of this one. “I have to say, I think he’s done a fantastic job since he’s gone in there. They finished last season and started this one particularly strongly. But in terms of how we approach it, it will be exactly the same as normal and get on with our jobs.

“We might have to be wary of the impact it has on them, but you can’t really prepare for that. Their energy levels etc. is not for us to prepare for. We prepare ourselves to be the best we can possibly be.

“Obviously we respect what they’re good at and what they do, and we have to try and prevent that. There is no extra preparation for it because of their situation though. We respect the game and what it will be like, and we’ll be ready for it.”

Ready for it Boro must be. This is a team that have proved their capabilities with their pre-Burnley form. They must quickly put the Leeds disappointment behind them and get back to that ruthless side in order to get themselves right back in the race.