Michael Carrick's 'excited' Middlesbrough verdict ahead of Sheffield United trip

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick believes there is a ‘freshness’ about his side following a break ahead of tonight’s clash with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Boro haven’t played since their derby defeat to Sunderland at the beginning of the month. They travel to Sheffield United in the Championship to face former boss Chris Wilder. They have the chance to be the first to do the double over the Blades this season as they welcomed six new players to the Riverside in the January window, with Carrick happy with the way they have settled.

“The boys have settled in fantastically well, actually, and there’s a good feeling, certainly a feeling of freshness and re-energised in ways, but it doesn’t feel new, which is important,” said Carrick. “We feel like we’re in a good place. We’ve come out of the window in good shape, and I’m happy with what we’ve got now. “We’ve just got to keep building.”

The reverse fixture ended 1-0 to Boro courtesy of an Emmanuel Latte Lath strike, who now plays in the MLS. The Ivorian was Carrick’s leading goal scorer before his departure.

“I’m happy with the squad. There are different reasons for the ins and outs; that’s part of the window and getting the balance right,” he added.

Just two wins in nine games leaves Boro outside the play-off spots – picking up 10 points from a possible 27. Carrick responded to the form by saying: “I’m not concerned, I’ll totally accept it. It is what it is.

“It’s quite clear that we can improve results of late. One hundred percent, we are capable of doing that, and capable of putting results together and we’ve shown that over a period of time. “Sometimes during the season, there is waves of form that we could do without. We’ve certainly had that, there’s no getting away from that, and we need to do something about it, which to be honest I’m really encouraging.

“I’m quite excited by what’s ahead. I think we’ve got the squad, the group, the feeling that there is some really good games coming up so, it’s all to play for.”