MICHAEL CARRICK expects Middlesbrough’s squad depth to be crucial as his side prepare to embark on a hectic run of matches before the end of the year.

Boro return to action after the international break on Saturday when they travel to the Kassam Stadium to take on Oxford United, with the game starting a run of ten matches in the space of five-and-a-half weeks that culminates in the New Year’s Day meeting with Hull City.

There are already question marks over some key players, with Aidan Morris and Hayden Hackney both having been withdrawn from their respective international squads in the last few days.

The likes of Tommy Smith, Darragh Lenihan and Alex Bangura remain absent with long-term injury issues, meaning Boro’s squad will be tested in the next month-and-a-half. Crucially, though, Carrick is confident he has more than enough options to cope with whatever is thrown at him.

“Everyone can’t start every game,” said the Boro boss. “But it’s not about just one game. It’s about accumulating enough points over a period of time to be successful. That’s the only way.

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“Hopefully, the boys understand the decisions we make and understand that there’ll be plenty of games to come. For sure, they’re buying into it. There’s never an issue, never a problem, they’re just a real good bunch. We need that moving forward.”

Carrick made changes in the final game before the international break, leaving Riley McGree and Tommy Conway on the substitutes’ bench in order to accommodate the return of Delano Burgzorg and Emmanuel Latte Lath to the starting side.

Burgzorg and Latte Lath both scored in the 5-1 thrashing of Luton Town, reinforcing the need for all those outside the starting XI to be ready to step into the team.

“We speak a lot about competition,” said Carrick. “Of course, all the boys want to play and want to start games. But the impact subs can have has been proven to be huge recently, and especially going through the season, everyone has to play their part.”