According to Michael Carrick, Middlesbrough’s players are aware that if they want to have a real chance of finishing in the top six in the Championship this year, they must stop letting important points slip away.
After Marcus Forss’ goal in the second half, Boro appeared to be heading for an important derby victory over Sunderland. However, Tom Glover’s critical late mistake allowed Nazariy Rusyn to equalize for the Black Cats, and Boro lost two points.
Boro has been left wondering what might have been before. They lost to Coventry even though they led at halftime and have only gained one point from a possible six in their last two games against Rotherham, the bottom team, before Christmas.
Carrick says his team should be encouraged by the fact that they are not far away, but they also need to convert encouraging and hopeful performances into wins.
The head coach of Boro stated, “I don’t need to tell the boys that; they know that in the changing room.”
“They’re disappointed in themselves as they are. Knowing what you’re capable of and having that confidence are two very different things. However, if confidence wanes, it’s far better to know you can play that manner and do it. The lads get a lot of confidence from knowing that we support them when they strive for a win or a performance.
“But I don’t need to give them the message, they know exactly the situation and we’ll keep striving to get better and become that successful team with performances we want to build on.”
Carrick believed that Boro should have won all three games versus Sunderland.
“It is extremely frustrating,” he remarked.
“We must begin to get from games what we are due. We seem to be dropping points when we ought to be earning them.
“It’s evident in the league standings where we are, but I do believe that there are far too many games where we establish ourselves, play well, take the lead, and appear dangerous, only to lose up a lot of ground in the second half.
However, we eventually arrive to that conclusion. It’s definitely disappointing. I feel bad for the boys because they gave the game their all and played really well, particularly in the second half, to take complete control. It is frustrating to not win the game.”
“Really, it’s a variety of different moments and factors that are costing us,” he concluded.
It’s difficult to isolate a certain issue and declare, “That’s the whole reason.'” Really, it’s a little bit of both ends.
“Although I can’t really blame the boys because a lot of their work is fantastic and I think they deserve their prizes, there was a merciless sense and a deadly touch at one point. However, I believe it is our responsibility to win them rewards as well.
“It’s not an exact science when we look back over the reasons why, but there are so many good things in there that we’re doing against good teams, that should give us the confidence we need to make that extra step and finish games off.”
