MICHAEL Carrick was surprised by Anfernee Dijksteel's "strange" sending off in the 1-0 defeat at Rotherham, a decision that changed the game, said Middlesbrough's head coach.

Dijksteel saw red deep in first half stoppage time for a foul on ex-Boro striker Jordan Hugill.

It forced Carrick into a tactical switch at half-time, with striker Cameron Archer sacrificed and Tommy Smith introduced.

But Rotherham quickly took advantage of having an extra man, as Hakeem Odoffin struck what proved to be the only goal early in the second half.

"I've seen it back and I thought it was soft," said Carrick of Keith Stroud's decision to send Dijksteel off.

"Darragh (Lenihan) was covering him. It caught me by surprise that he pulled the red out, it was a strange decision."

Dijksteel will now serve a one-match ban and will miss the final game of the regular season at home to Coventry City next Monday.

Rotherham's goal came from their only shot on target in the 90 minutes but the Millers stood firm at the other end to frustrate Boro and secure Championship survival.

Carrick felt Boro struggled to impose themselves in the first half but thought his side improved after falling behind but lacked a cutting edge, with Archer having been replaced.

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The defeat - the second on the bounce after last Monday's loss at Luton -  means Boro will finish fourth in the Championship.

Carrick said: "How am I feeling? Mixed really.

"I'm disappointed that we lost the game, it's definitely not what we came here to do, but at the same point there's things to learn from it, the situation in terms of the game we want to play compared to the way the opposition want to play.

"I thought the first half, large parts suited them, it didn't really suit us, it was stop-start with set-plays and there wasn't a lot of football played.

"The little bits we played I thought a couple of moves we looked really dangerous, then the sending off changes the game.

"In the second half we played a bit more like we want to play, we just didn't have the end product which is tough with 10 men because we are trying to control the game.

"We were just missing a number at the top end of the pitch, so it was hard to create that chance. The boys did a lot of good things."