Michael Carrick has said there is no way on earth that Steve Gibson or anyone at Middlesbrough’s commitment to bringing success back to the club should be in question.

With the transfer window open, Boro were braced for interest in their key players this month as a potentially disruptive factor for their promotion chase this season. As things stand, Boro have received a sizeable offer for star striker Emmanuel Latte Lath from MLS side Atlanta United and remain in talks over a potential sale.

While it would naturally be a blow to lose their top scorer mid-season - as highlighted at Portsmouth when he netted his 11th of the season - Boro will be in a position to replace the 26-year-old this month and have money to strengthen other areas of the squad if he does leave.

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The club’s most recent financial accounts released earlier this month highlighted the importance of player-trading, but also of Gibson’s altruism and ambition. He put in another £13m of his own money while effectively writing off over £140m of debt owed to him. On top of that, Boro were one of the biggest spenders outside of clubs in receipt of parachute payments, for the period covering last season, in both transfer fees and wages paid.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say about commitment from them,” Carrick said when asked about the Boro hierarchy. “There’s no way on earth you could ever question the commitment of anybody at this football club - whether that’s at the very top, for what they’ve done day in and day out to try and make this great club better.

“And then that’s the same in terms of me, the backroom staff and the players.The commitment is not an issue. So we have to be careful what we see as commitment and what’s just football in general, and the life of being at a football club. It’s certainly not for the want of trying and the want of success and effort and attitude here. There’s no way anyone could be questioned for that.”

For Carrick, this is his fifth transfer window as Boro head coach, and it’s fair to say he’s experienced everything there is to as a manager during a transfer window. Whether it be overhauling squads or unexpectedly losing players, Boro have tended to be active in the two-and-a-bit years of Carrick’s time on Teesside.

On how he finds transfer windows, particularly in January as it comes in the middle of the season, he said: “There’s a balance [between coaching and focusing on recruitment]. It’s the role and responsibility. It’s not a side-show by any stretch.

“It’s such an important part of the season and building the club and squad, and dealing with what comes around. At certain times it’s challenging, at certain times you are more in control of it. It depends what side of the fence you are on and what you’re trying to do or what is thrown at you. But it’s something that you’ve got to accept, embrace and make the most of.”