Michael Carrick said he was ‘delighted’ for local lad Hayden Hackney, who turned in a top performance for the England Under 21 side in the international break.
Addressing the club’s media – via the club website – in the press conference for the game away to Blackburn, Carrick gave his views regarding the international break and the performances of his players who represented their national team.
Asked how Hayden Hackney found his debut for the young Lions in their 3-0 victory against Luxembourg, Carrick smilingly replied, “I think he enjoyed it.”
A Proud head coach
It was no real surprise to the head coach, who is well accustomed to the capabilities of the 21-year-old who had previously played for Scotland at the same level. “You can see how much he enjoyed it. I thought he was the best player on the pitch by quite some way to be honest. Added Carrick.
“He deserves it, he’s earned it, he has played like that for us now for a long period of time, so I wasn’t surprised, every time he needs to take a step up, he naturally steps up and his performance levels go up… I was proud to see him do so well.”
It is high praise indeed from a player who played that position so majestically himself. Carrick will hope the form of the young star will continue as Boro search for their first win of the season against Blackburn and barring any disasters, Hackney will start for the thirty-ninth time under Carrick, with nobody featuring more during the head coach’s tenure (he and Darragh Lenihan have played 38 games for Carrick).
A spring in their step
Praise was also reserved for some of his other youngsters in the shape of Dutch Under 21 defender and Boro new boy Rav van den Berg and Aussie arrival Sami Silvera. With the former Manchester United player and coach saying, “It was a big week for Rav, playing two games for Holland Under 21, great to see that, another big step for Rav, and a big week for Sami, making his debut for Australia.
“So, we have got some good players here, young players for sure but good players in general, that in itself shows where the players are at individually and they bring that confidence back (to Boro), that energy and a spring in their step.”
Elsewhere, 16 -year-old Finlay Cartwright continued his good form in the England Under 17 side, but it was an international break to forget for Paddy McNair (Northern Ireland) and Darragh Lenihan (Republic of Ireland) amongst others.