Michael Carrick believes the arrival of Aaron Danks "adds a different dynamic" to his Middlesbrough coaching team.

Former Aston Villa coach and caretaker boss Danks joined Boro during the World Cup break, and will work alongside Jonathan Woogate and Grant Leadbitter in assisting head coach Carrick.

Carrick had been on the lookout for another coach since arriving at Boro but was happy to be patient, keen to ensure the appointment was the right one rather than a quick one.

And he believes Danks, who before Villa worked for Anderlecht and with various England age-groups, ticked all the boxes and complements those who were already part of the Boro set-up.

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Carrick wanted a coach who brought their own ideas and believes Boro are now "covered in almost all areas".

He said of Danks: “He brings an awful lot of experience to our team - coaching experience, working with and developing younger players especially. It adds a slightly different dynamic to me, Woody and Grant too because we’re all ex-players coming out of the game.

"He sees it a little differently to us, which is great because bringing in someone who just sees everything the same as me and agrees with everything is pointless.

"So he’s a different set of eyes and ears, a different brain with different ideas on how to do things. That’s great and he’s settled in fantastically well and I’m really pleased with the staff we’ve got.

"I feel like we’re covered in almost all areas now and the focus is on working with the players to get better now, which is the whole idea of why we’re here."

Leadbitter also has a crucial role to play in the coaching team. He returned to Boro as individual development coach in June but stepped up to assist Carrick and Woodgate after their appointments and has impressed, with the head coach quickly deciding he wanted to keep the former skipper in the first team fold.

Leadbitter is now continuing his hybrid role, working between the first team and the academy, crucial with Carrick so keen on ensuring there's a pathway for the club's youngsters to progress into the senior side.

“Grant’s invaluable to what we do," said Carrick.

"He’s still doing work with the academy and coaching at that level for his badges and getting more experience on the grass and developing himself. He’s helping to develop our young boys and providing that connection from the young ages in the academy all the way up to us in the first team.

"I think that’s crucial in a football club to have that connection if you want to bring players through. Grant’s massive to that. He’s with us every day out on the grass and he’s in our office because he’s a big part of what we do.”

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