Former Manchester United midfielder and manager Michael Carrick has attributed his success at Middlesbrough to the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson.
After leaving United to pave the way for Ralf Rangnick’s arrival at Old Trafford, Carrick took a break from football before landing the Middlesbrough job.
The Englishman has had a fairytale start to life at the Championship club. They were in 21st position when he arrived and were in major turmoil.
Middlesbrough are now fourth in the Championship and dreaming of the prospect of even being promoted to the Premier League.
Carrick has won eight of his last 12 games in what is shaping up to be a very fruitful managerial stint.
The former United man said to Sky Bet via The Mirror on Ferguson’s influence, “You can’t get carried away in the Championship.
“I learned a lot from Sir Alex Ferguson in terms of chasing success and how he did it, and you can’t think about the end game too much.”
“It’s wasting time and energy, we can only control what we can, and that’s hopefully three points on the weekend. Don’t think about the end of the story while the story is going on.”
“The target is to be as good as we can be. Every team in this league wants to get promoted, every team not in the Premier League wants to get into the Premier League – that’s obvious for us as a club, me as an individual, and the players.”
Carrick has warned his players against the prospect of chasing success too much at the expense of neglecting progress at the present.
Looking ahead to the game against Sunderland where Carrick will be plotting to stop Amad Diallo, the 41-year-old said he is excited about the game.
He added that his first derby is a welcome experience and that his team will do all they can to ensure victory against Tony Mowbray’s men.
Certainly, the derby is one for United fans to keep an eye on to see who emerges on top.
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