MICHAEL CARRICK insists he is willing to be flexible with both tactics and personnel as he looks to maintain Middlesbrough’s surge up the Championship table.
Boro climbed to 16th position as they thrashed Sunderland 4-0 at the Stadium of Light at the weekend, and find themselves just four points adrift of the play-off positions after recording four league wins on the bounce.
They are also through to the last-16 of the Carabao Cup, with a trip to Exeter City scheduled for the end of the month, meaning they will find themselves tackling a packed fixture schedule when the domestic programme resumes after the international break.
That could mean having to shuffle the starting line-up, or potentially necessitate a switch of formation to accommodate personnel changes, and while Carrick is adamant he wants to continue sticking to his preferred overall style, he claims to have an open mind when it comes to possible tweaks or alterations.
“We’ve got a way of playing to an extent, but that’s adaptable depending on who’s playing in certain positions,” said the Boro boss, whose side return to action a week on Saturday when they host Birmingham City. “I’m not massive on formations, as we’ve discussed before. It’s more about looking at certain spaces that we can use and fill at certain times.
“I don’t think you can put numbers on formations anymore because it depends where the ball is on the pitch at certain moments and that dictates the space you fill. That’s how I see it really - what spaces we want to attack and what makes us most dangerous.
“That’s what it boils down to, and certain boys have particular attributes that make them receivers and dribblers, some boys are a little bit more explosive and dynamic, some are more of a physical threat.
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“There is a style in terms of, we like having the ball and controlling the game and we look to play certain passes and attack in certain ways. But different players have different attributes which means we can adapt it slightly game to game.”
Carrick’s willingness to tweak things from match to match reflects his confidence in the depth of the squad that was assembled in the summer.
With Paddy McNair, Lukas Engel and Dan Barlaser featuring in Saturday’s starting line-up on Wearside, Darragh Lenihan, Alex Bangura and Jonny Howson all found themselves selected on a strong-looking Boro bench that also featured summer signings Morgan Rogers, Sammy Silvera and Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Sam Greenwood, who scored Boro’s opening goal, ensured the injured Riley McGree was not too badly missed, while there has also been a welcome return for Marcus Forss in the last few weeks, with the Finn having come off the bench in the last three games.
“Just because some boys aren’t involved every week, it doesn’t mean I’ve lost faith in them,” said Carrick. “At some point, they’re all going to play throughout the season, for whatever reason. That’s part of having a squad and why we want options throughout the squad.
“I’m delighted with the impact that the boys who have come into the team in the last few weeks have had. And the boys coming off the bench as well. To still have Jonny and Darragh on the bench (at Sunderland), we felt really strong all-round and that proved to be the case in the way we kicked on in the second half.
“They’re all big players for us, and having to put any players on the bench is not easy right now. We’re together though, which makes it easier and is more beneficial for the whole group.
“I’ve said before, in many ways, it’s the players not in the team who are the most important because they set the tone and the standards around the place.”
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