HE ACKNOWLEDGES it's an uphill battle but Michael Carrick says Middlesbrough must keep believing they can still force their way back into the Championship play-off mix.

Three defeats in four games have left Boro 11 points shy of the top six ahead of today's trip to face struggling Stoke, but Carrick insists his players are still upbeat and have plenty to play for, with the head coach refusing to write off the season.

“Obviously it’s tougher than it was before Saturday’s match," said Carrick, when quizzed on whether a top six finish is still realistic.

"But that doesn’t change how we do things and how we approach each game. Anything can happen so we’ve certainly got to keep believing and keep trying to do the right things.

"Regardless of where we are, I don’t recall any team ever going into the next game not trying to win it. Certainly we’re doing that and we’ll be doing that for the remainder of the season and we’ll see what we can achieve in that time.

“The boys are all right. We know we haven’t had as many positive results as we’d like but the boys are good and always looking forward to the next game. We always go into games with confidence and approach each game to try and win. It’s not going to be easy, but for sure we’re looking forward to it.

“There is always something to play for, right until the very end. The league is the obvious one, but just in terms of for yourself, your pride, individually and as a team, you want to keep getting better and improving. There is always something to play for and we’re in no danger of forgetting that.

“We know we need to improve and I’m definitely not shying away from that. But I’m not concerned. We know what we need to do and I know what we can do. We just know we need to be at our best more often. We’ll keep trying to collect as many points as we can.

"We’re capable of it, the boys are capable. But we haven’t done enough as a group to be higher up the table and that’s why the league is what it is. It’s up to us to do something about it. The belief is certainly there. We know what we’re capable of doing but we’ve got to put it together."

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Four of Boro's next five games are against teams in the bottom half, starting today against Stoke (3pm), who have dropped into the bottom three after a run of just one win in seven games.

It's been a tough start to life at the Bet365 Stadium for Steven Schumacher but Carrick insists the Potters are playing better than results suggest.

He said: “I think they’re playing well actually, despite not having the results they would have wanted.

"I guess that my independent view of watching their games with no emotion or attachment to them, I think they’ve played pretty well and will probably feel a bit hard done by. We’re definitely under no illusions of what we’re facing and the challenge we’re going into. I don’t think their results paint the true picture of how well they’re playing. We know the level we’ve got to be at on Saturday."