MICHAEL CARRICK has been delighted with the impact made by his brother, Graeme, since he was brought onto Middlesbrough’s coaching staff.

However, the Boro boss admits he did have worries that the decision to bring his sibling on board would be viewed as nepotism rather than an unbiased recruitment decision.

Boro were left with a major gap in their backroom staff when Aaron Danks left to join Vincent Kompany’s coaching set-up at Bayern Munich earlier this summer.

A number of candidates were considered, but rather than move for an assistant head coach, Carrick opted to offer his brother, Graeme, a first-team coaching role.

Graeme left his job as Under-18s manager at Newcastle United in order to head to Rockliffe Park, and has joined Jonathan Woodgate, Grant Leadbitter and Alan Fettis on Boro’s coaching staff.

Michael was always confident his brother’s skillset would make him a valuable addition to the backroom team, but concedes he was initially worried how the decision to turn to a family member would look.

“It was obvious choice in some ways, but not in others,” said Boro’s head coach. “I didn’t want it to be seen as just an obvious and easy choice in terms of me bringing my brother in.

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“There are really good reasons for it. He knows me, he knows the other coaches and he knows how we play. He’s been in and around it at times already, so he got it.

“We were really keen on not changing too much because we feel like we’re on a good trajectory and he ticked a lot of boxes for us.

“For him, as a coach and the career path he’d been on, it was kind of the next natural progression. I have to say, it’s been really good - the dynamics of the coaches and other backroom staff. He’s fitted in really well.”

Rather than recruit a like-for-like replacement for Danks, Carrick felt his brother’s extensive experience of working in the academy system would help bridge the gap between Boro’s own youth set-up and the first team.

Graeme works closely with Boro’s academy head, Craig Liddle, and will play a key role in the ongoing efforts to ensure there is a functioning pathway from Boro’s various youth teams to the senior squad.

“There were a number of things that really appealed,” said Michael. “What he’s (Graeme) good at, what his strengths are, what we needed to fill little gaps within our coaching step up.

“His experience with younger players and what it takes to progress through academies into senior football was important, for sure.”

While Graeme’s arrival has helped widen Boro’s coaching pool, Michael continues to adopt an extremely hands-on approach to all elements of the club’s training schedule.

The Boro boss is at his happiest when working on the training pitch, and intends to continue being as directly involved as possible.

“Nothing has really changed day-to-day,” he said. “I’m quite hands-on and quite like getting involved in planning sessions, planning the week and the month ahead, looking at what players might need what extra.

“I enjoy that side of it. We share the load and work together. So, in terms of that, the change this summer hasn’t really affected much.”