MICHAEL CARRICK was delighted to see his Middlesbrough side return to winning ways as they thrashed Norwich City 5-1 this evening – but actually felt they had played better in a number of their previous games this season.

Boro ran in four goals before the break as they cruised to victory against a Norwich side whose own promotion ambitions suffered a major blow as they were hammered at the Riverside.

The victory ended a three-game winless run that had set nerves jangling on Teesside, and while Carrick insists he was never worried about his side’s form, he nevertheless admitted he was delighted with the result.

However, he also claimed the performance was far from perfect, and had been bettered by some previous displays on his watch this term.

Carrick said: “I’m delighted with the result. In a strange way, I actually think we’ve played better in other games, but we had that really clinical feel about us tonight and were ruthless.

“I was really, really pleased to see that. It wasn’t a nice performance – it was one where the boys showed how much they wanted it and how tuned in they were.

“You could see how confident they were as well, to create the chances and score the goals. Even after the setback of conceding just before half-time, it was great to go and score again and have that mentality.

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“I was really pleased with a lot of things, and with not really being right at our best I didn’t think, it was a terrific win and really important for us.”

In particular, Carrick with the way in which his players responded to the disappointment of losing opening goalscorer, Aaron Ramsey, to injury midway through the first half.

He said: “It was nice for the boys to create chances for each other, create goals for each other, and share the load. There were threats from lots of different areas, and I was particularly pleased with how we reacted to AJ (Ramsey) going off actually.

“Hayden (Hackney) adapted to that slightly different position, playing higher up. It was quite a big change, but he adapted to that ever so well. He got the goal, and then Alex came in and did terrifically well.

“What could have been a big blow – and is a big blow, because we’ll have to see how AJ is – I thought we adapted really well, and the boys played as a team and played for each other, which was great to see.”

The win lifts Boro back to within five points of Sheffield United, and ends a three-game run that had seen them pick up a solitary point from matches against Huddersfield, Burnley and Bristol City.

Carrick said: “It feels good. The beauty of it is that the performances weren’t that bad really. We had a sticky patch in terms of results, but funnily enough, I didn’t think the performances were actually any worse than the performance was tonight.

“Things went against us in certain games – partly our fault, partly football in general – but tonight we were clinical and ruthless.

“I said there was no panic and no drastic measures, and the boys showed it more than anything. It’s easy for me to sit here and say that, but I think the way the boys performed showed the confidence and belief they’ve still got. That was good to see.”