DAEL Fry is as happy as he's ever been at Middlesbrough and says confidence in the dressing room is through the roof thanks to head coach Michael Carrick.

Fry endured a testing time at the start of this season under Chris Wilder when he surprisingly lost his place in the side but says he never lost faith in his own ability and, under Carrick, the Teessider is back to his very best.

And after winning seven of their last eight games to soar into promotion contention, Fry issued a warning to Boro's rivals saying: "I think we'll get better as the season goes on."

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Boro have been transformed under Carrick, both in terms of results and the way the side play. The head coach prizes possession and wants his defenders to play out from the back. And if it doesn't go to plan, it's Carrick who will take the criticism, rather than allow blame to be pointed towards his players. That, says Fry, gives the squad immense belief.

“I think he’s just got such a calm approach and that reflects with what we try and do on the pitch," said the centre-half, who made his 200th Boro appearance in the win over Millwall at the weekend.

"We’re really calm on the ball, we try to play out from the back and I know at times the fans get a bit nervy because I can hear them in their seats. But honestly, on that pitch we’re just so confident. Even when it doesn’t work, his message is keep doing it, keep trying it, and he’ll take full ownership.

"We’re just so confident on that pitch and we all believe in each other. It’s a fantastic way of playing. Sometimes you can play well and not win games, but right now we’re playing well and winning games and that’s fantastic."

Boro moved from a back five under Wilder to a back four under Carrick, with the former Manchester United midfielder quickly putting his stamp on the side.

Fry said: “It’s different and it can be difficult, but you have to be able to adapt because certain managers want to do different things.

"This manager wants us to play out from the back and have confidence doing it and even if we make a mistake he asks us to keep going with it, keep probing and keep trying to go through the lines. It gives us confidence going into games.

"You’ve got to be ready to adapt to whatever a new manager wants and I think as a group we’ve taken quickly to what this manager wants. We’ve worked hard and done a lot of training, working on things - playing out from the back, breaking the lines, getting Riley [McGree] and Chuba [Akpom] on the ball. Chuba has been absolutely fantastic, by the way. We’re playing nice football and winning games, so it’s fantastic."

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Reflecting on his spell out of the side under Wilder at the start of the season, Fry said: “You get tough moments in any career and what you’ve got to do is just stay back at the end of the training and do a little bit extra, keep working and keep believing in yourself even when others don’t, and when your chance comes you’ve got to take it.

"I think right now I’m enjoying my football more than I’ve ever enjoyed it in my whole career. Hard work will always stand you in good stead."