Middlesbrough: Mistakes will be excused as Boro commit to new approach

The head coach has been hugely impressed by how quickly his players have taken his message and preferred approach on board, with Boro a team transformed - both in terms of results and playing style - since Carrick's appointment.

But with Carrick less than three months into his tenure, the transition into the new approach is still a work in progress. The true test comes when Boro are under the cosh in games - as they were at Birmingham after the Blues scored and in the late stages of the win over Millwall.

But Carrick was delighted with the manner in which his side didn't panic in either game and continued in their quest to dominate the ball. There were one or two nervy moments late on in the win over Millwall as Boro passed the ball around their own box, but that was exactly what Carrick wanted to see.

Carrick doesn't just want his players to play in his preferred style when they're on top and winning games but to commit to it from the first whistle to the last and he knows that with repetition will come improvement.

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"There's a little bit of when we're ahead, how do we control it a bit better, how do we stop their moments?," said Carrick as he reflected on Saturday's win over Millwall.

"Sometimes it can just be a small moment where we're a little bit sloppy or there's a misplaced pass and it just gives them an incentive and the game can turn, so it's just about managing the game a bit better and probably believing in ourselves a bit more to keep taking the ball.

"Yeah, there's going to be the odd moment where we give the ball away but if that's the way we want to play you have to accept there'll be the odd moment when you do that.

"It's about doing it again and again to build your performance. If we go away from that just because there's a bit of pressure then what are we? We're not that type of team. The boys have done great at it and are doing it for large spells of games.

"When they do make the odd mistake I'm quite calm about it because I know we're trying to do the right thing."