Michael Carrick appreciated Steve Gibson’s Middlesbrough assurance but says he didn’t need it
Michael Carrick appreciated Steve Gibson’s Middlesbrough assurance but says he didn’t need it
Carrick insists he never feared he would be sacked by Middlesbrough this week and says,
while appreciative of the support from Steve Gibson, he doesn’t need it.
Boro have lost four games on the spin and dropped to 11th in the Championship table.
Despite plenty of speculation over his future following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Watford,
Gibson made the decision to back his head coach and give him time to turnaround the fortunes.
While that wasn’t always a foregone conclusion, the 43-year-old insists he didn’t ever fear the axe would fall.
Asked if there was any point after Watford he feared his 28-month spell at the Riverside was up,
Carrick said: “No, not really. It’s not something I think about in that manner.
What’s the point? It’s not going to get me anywhere. It’s never anything that I’ve done in the past,
professionally anyway.
“I think it’s, ‘what can I do today, tomorrow to be better for the next game’, really.
That’s the ultimate, that’s my responsibility. If I’m starting to think about other things then my head’s gone,
and then you’re finished. It’s not how I approach things and I’ve definitely not changed this week.”
Carrick did speak to Gibson after the Watford defeat, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary after any game.
While the Boro boss is pleased to feel such strong backing from the Boro owner, he insists he doesn’t need any reassurances, in a defiant indication of his strong self-belief.
“I speak to Steve,” he said. “I speak to him quite a lot, as I speak to Neil [Bausor] and Kieran [Scott],
and nothing’s changed. Nothing’s changed for me, really. We understand the club, where we’ve been,
where we’ve come from, where we’re trying to get to. I’m a grown man.
I feel like I’m strong enough to accept the situation. I understand it.
“I don’t need any special conversations at certain times.
I don’t need to be pulled down when we’re winning and told to calm down and don’t get carried away with it.
And I don’t need someone overly backing me in that sympathetic, kind of patronising way.
Honestly, for me personally, it doesn’t change what I do.
“I don’t need that sympathy from anybody. I don’t look for that. I look to myself to get on with it.
I feel the support. I’m not downplaying the support. I’ve felt that. I really, really appreciate it.
It’s a fantastic club. Steve’s an unbelievable owner and I felt it.
“It hasn’t changed this week for me, I’ve felt that all the time. But I understand the situation.
I’ve said it, without repeating myself, I get where it’s at.
But it doesn’t change my mood or how I go about my work or needing any reassurances off anyone.
“Honestly, for me it would be pretty pathetic. I’m a head coach of a fantastic football club.
I don’t need someone else to tell me ‘you’ll be all right’. I think I am here where I am for a reason,
and I fully believe in what we’re doing and I fully believe in the group.
“So I’m still really excited about what’s possible this season.
I understand the disappointment and being a bit downbeat. I get it.
I totally get it and I understand the situation. But 14 games to go and a lot to play for.
That’s where I’m focusing on 100%.”
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