MICHAEL Carrick and his Middlesbrough coaching staff are closely monitoring the youngsters who are getting the chance to feature for the first team during pre-season as they decide what is the best course of action for the academy players moving forward.

Carrick took the opportunity to look at several youngsters in last weekend's friendly double header, with the likes of George Gitau, Jeremy Sivi and summer arrival Terrell Agyemang playing at Hartlepool and several others involved at York the day later, with Ajay Matthews and Jack Stott featuring in both games.

Carrick showed last season that he's not afraid to put young players in his first team squad if he thinks they're good enough. As well as Hayden Hackney establishing himself as a Boro star in the midfield, the likes of Pharrell Willis and Sonny Finch both got a taste of Championship action.

And there'll be more of the same going forward.

“We’ve got to give them a chance, that’s why they’re at the club," said Carrick of his young players.

"Some will take the chance and some might not, but there is no point in me talking about it all season and then not giving them a chance."

That rings particularly true in pre-season, when the coaching team can look at the club's academy youngsters in a game environment and decide what approach is going to suit them best in the coming season.

Some youngsters will be sent out on loan, as was the case with Josh Coburn last season, while others will switch between training with the first team and the Under-21s. At any given time last season, Carrick had Under-21s training with his first team to see how they coped and responded to the change of environment.

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Carrick is constantly in close communication with academy boss Craig Liddle and staff, who have a terrific record of helping to produce players for the first team.

Carrick said: "It’s what the club’s academy is there for and why everyone works so hard in the academy.

"The aim and hard work is to get the boys to a level where they can take the next step. Quite a few have had that experience this summer, which is great for them.

"Obviously we learn a lot from that as well and we assess who's done well, and who we might look to develop and make part of the squad moving forward. We always have them train with us a lot anyway, so that doesn’t change."