If Michael Carrick is feeling the pressure of Middlesbrough's recent form that threatens to derail the season, he showed no signs of it in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sheffield United.

Amid high expectations and heavy backing from the club in both of this season’s transfer windows, the pressure is on Carrick to deliver at least a top-six finish this term - something that their recent slump of just three wins in 13 has put at real risk.

Given the playing career Carrick enjoyed where he dealt with pressure and expectation of the highest order at Manchester United, it’s perhaps to be expected that he doesn’t show it now. And yet, in past difficult or testing periods of his Boro tenure, it’s usually easy to detect that he understands pressure is building, and that he’s feeling it.

READ MORE: Ben Doak loan comparison made as Middlesbrough hope to benefit from Samuel Iling-Junior unknown

READ MORE: Middlesbrough predicted line-up vs Sheffield United with interesting calls to make in attack

More often than not it manifests itself in a more bullish and upbeat Carrick when delivering messages to supporters in his pre-match press conference. But with nine days to reflect on the Sunderland defeat, take stock and refresh ahead of the final 16 games, rather than that more fiery side of Carrick that might have been expected on Monday, his demeanour was one of genuine optimism and belief.

“It’s not been a fantastic run in terms of points and some of the results, but it really doesn’t feel like that (doom and gloom),” he insisted of the mood at Rockliffe. “That’s not us getting blase about things and saying, ‘It doesn’t really matter’. It matters an awful lot. But it hasn’t affected the energy, the mood or the confidence, which is pleasing. If anything, it’s fuelled the motivation that little bit more.

“It’s pretty obvious that we haven’t picked enough points up. We have to accept that. Ultimately, that dictates where you are in the league. Largely, when you look at the performance levels, we feel like we should have got a few more points, but ultimately that doesn’t matter. It’s all about what points are actually on the table.

“As much as I don’t like elements of the way the season has gone – we want more points and we want to be better – I do take a massive amount of encouragement from what we can do and what is possible.”

Sitting in front of Carrick in the press room at the Rockliffe training base ahead of Sheffield United, they didn’t feel like just words. They weren’t in any way dismissive of the poor form or, as he put it, blase about the danger of the situation in the wider context of the season. The belief he had seemed genuine.

But, the harsh reality is, whether that proves anything more than just words without substance will be proved over the course of the next 16 games. It’s hard, based on the evidence of the season so far, to take much encouragement from his belief, and he understands that.

“Listen, we’ve got to go and do it,” he conceded. “We’ve got to earn it and prove it. It’s all in front of us. But it gives us a lot of belief to know what might be in front of us if we keep doing the right things. The potential is there, and this league, for whatever reason, does that. Every season, from top to bottom, you see teams going on crazy runs, both ways, with both types of form.

“It’s a massive opportunity. We’ve been in slightly better positions since I’ve been here, but we’ve also been in a lot worse situations too. We’ve always had that confidence that we can put a run together and get good results. That’s even more so now with the squad we’ve got, where the lads are at, the feeling amongst them and the spirit.

“It’s up to us now, we’ve got to do something about it, but I do feel we’re in a good place. There’ll be ups and downs through the games we’ve got coming, but that’s not going to knock us off track. We’ve not been knocked off track with what we’ve just gone through, which hasn’t been particularly great, but I think there can be much better times ahead if we put things together.”

If it starts on Wednesday though it will take an almighty improvement. Sheffield United are a winning machine under former Boro boss Chris Wilder this season, with an impressive league-high of 20 wins from 31 games. They’ve lost only five games all season, one of which was to Boro in the reverse fixture at the Riverside.

That evening proved that Boro can compete with the very best in this division when at their best. But that they go into this game 22 points behind the Blades in the table is indicative of the inconsistency that has plagued their season. Carrick also had an alarming admission on what Sheffield United have that he admits his side have so far lacked.

“Credit to Sheffield United,” Carrick said. “They’ve found an unbelievable level of consistency in their results. Even though they’ve maybe not always been at their very, very best, they’ve found a way to win and that’s a skill in itself. That’s definitely something we’ve not been able to find up to now. That’s where we want to get to, getting those points week in, week out.

“We do think that if we maintain the level of performance, or improve it, then that’s going to give you a better chance of getting to where you want to get to, but there will always be games where you just have to have the confidence that you’re going to get something no matter what. We’ve got to find that way of accumulating points. That’s where we need to get to.

“That’s why they are where they are in the league and why they’ve been able to accumulate the number of points they have. That’s certainly the challenge we face between now and the end of the season, putting that together for ourselves.

“It’s a tough game. The way they play, and the atmosphere they create being in that stadium, it’s a challenge. It always has been. But we’re looking forward to it. They’re a good team and have some really good individuals, but so have we. I’m expecting a good game.

“We’re looking forward to it. We’ve prepared well, but there’s nothing like playing games and this is one we’re looking forward to. It’s always a challenge going there, with the type of team they are and the quality of the squad Chris has assembled. It’s a good challenge for us, but we’re confident.”

In the face of pressure, Carrick struck the right chords in front of the cameras on this occasion. Whether his belief rubs off on an increasingly frustrated fanbase will be determined more on the pitch than in the press room though. Actions speak louder than words, and Boro fans need to start seeing improvements rather than hearing about them.