HOW things can so very quickly change in football.

Just a little over a month ago, Middlesbrough signed off for the first international break of the season rock bottom of the Championship, winless and having just lost at home to Queens Park Rangers in worrying fashion.

From the outside looking in, the picture looked rather bleak for Boro.

And yet now, five weeks on, Boro take a breather in the second stoppage of the campaign after a run of five straight wins in all competitions.

While the first break was seen as a much-needed pause and opportunity to take stock, this second halt in play can't end soon enough for Boro, who will return to Championship action after four straight league wins and two clean sheets. They also have a Carabao Cup fourth round clash away to Exeter City to look forward to.

The obvious question is what changed? And yet head coach Michael Carrick always insisted he was never concerned. Even through the deeply concerning early weeks of the season, Carrick was adamant that he hadn't lost belief, that he'd seen plenty to be encouraged by and that results would soon pick up.

He was right. And yet while Carrick refused to be too downbeat early in the season, he won't get ahead of himself now. Boro's brilliant Championship run can act as a springboard, he says, but when play resumes after the break with the visit of managerless - for now - Birmingham, it'll be treated as a new start.

"It’s been building over a period of time really," said Carrick of his side's fine run of form.

"Results have certainly come in the last two or so weeks, and there is no denying that the one at Sunderland is a big result for us. We take a lot of positives from it, but we know we have to start all over again when we get back again. We're not getting too carried away but we'll make the most of the next two weeks and hopefully come back stronger."

Carrick reiterated that while obviously disappointed with results early in the season, he was always certain they'd get back on track,

"I think we just always felt it would turn at some point," he says.

"That’s not to say we’ve cracked it by any means. I don’t feel like that at all. It’s about what we do next, but certainly it’s been a great couple of weeks for us."

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Boro will use the next couple of weeks to help their walking wounded recover, with Rav van den Berg and Riley McGree staying on Teesside rather than heading off on international duty.

McGree yesterday pulled out of Australia's squad for their games against England at Wembley on Friday night and New Zealand next week. The midfielder suffered a foot injury in last week's win over Cardiff. 

And van den Berg withdrew from the Holland Under-21 squad after feeling a muscle injury in the warm-up at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. He missed last week's Cardiff game with a hamstring issue.

Other Boro players have been battling niggles and illness of late, with both Jonny Howson and Darragh Lenihan only deemed fit enough to be on the bench at Sunderland.