MIDDLESBROUGH have chosen to back rather than sack Michael Carrick despite a run of six defeats in seven matches.
The Championship club’s chairman Steve Gibson was in the stands to watch Saturday’s dire 1-0 defeat to Watford.
And after talks, he has decided to stick with the Manchester United legend in a huge vote of confidence.
Carrick, 43, is the Championship’s longest-serving manager, but his reign of two years and four months was thought to be over after Boro slipped to 11th.
Despite the winter slump, Boro still remain just four points behind sixth-placed West Brom with a game in hand.
Speculation has mounted that Gibson would wield the axe to try and reignite a play-off push that has faded badly following just three wins from the last 15 matches.
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Boro had hopes of automatic promotion this term, but they are 25 points adrift of the top two, and the top six was the minimum expectation.
And with season ticket renewal details set to be announced imminently, pressure has mounted on Carrick.
But Boro chiefs are backing him to turn things around despite fan unrest and will continue to support him.
Middlesbrough are next in action on Friday in a televised clash at Bristol City ahead of a trip to Stoke and then a home game with Derby County.
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Carrick took over Boro in October 2022 with the club sitting 21st and looking set for a relegation fight.
But they enjoyed a huge upturn in form and ended up finishing in the play-offs, where they suffered heartbreak against Coventry City.
They then missed out on the top six last term by four points, although Carrick led Boro to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
He lost highly-rated first-team coach Aaron Danks from his backroom team last summer when he left to become Vincent Kompany’s assistant at Bayern Munich.
Carrick replaced him with his younger brother Graeme, previously Newcastle’s U18 coach, while ex-Boro player and manager Jonathan Woodgate has been his No2 throughout.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
