Michael Carrick has defended his style of play and insisted that he won’t change his ways despite Middlesbrough’s tough start to the season.
Defeat to rivals Sunderland means that Boro have failed to win four of their first six league games and find themselves 12th in the second tier.
During those games, Boro have had the highest possession stats in the Championship this season but failed to make it count.
At the Stadium of Light, the Teesiders had recorded just one shot on target despite having 63 percent of the ball.
Michael Carrick won’t ‘rip up and start again’ after Middlesbrough’s struggling start to the season
Boro have found themselves coming up against sides with a low-defensive block this season and could face that problem again when they face Stoke City on Saturday.
Given the tough start to the 2024/25 campaign, there have been some calls for Carrick to adapt his playing style but the Middlesbrough manager says now is not the time to panic.
He said: “There’s a way of playing. We bring players in to play a certain way and play to their strengths so we’re not going to flip that on its head so early in the season.
“We can do things better, the way we were around the box with our movements and ideas. We can definitely improve.
“But it’s not rip up and start again by any stretch, we’ve lost three games in 19. It’s time to take a deep breath and keep doing what we’re doing.”
| Position | Team | PlayedMP | WonW | DrawnD | LostL | ForGF | AgainstGA | DiffGD | PointsPts |
| 7 |  SwanseaSwansea | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 8 |  WatfordWatford | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 9 |  Oxford UnitedOxford United | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 |  DerbyDerby | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 9 |
| 11 |  NorwichNorwich | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| 12 |  MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| 13 |  Bristol CityBristol City | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 8 |
| 14 |  QPRQPR | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 7 |
| 15 |  LutonLuton | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 7 |
| 16 |  Hull CityHull City | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 6 |
Michael Carrick names one thing Middlesbrough can improve
Wins may have been hard to come by, but Carrick believes there is still plenty to be positive about.
The Teesiders have only conceded five goals but only scored one more than that and Carrick has called for his players to capitalise on those big chances.
He said: “We’re still creating chances. We didn’t create enough towards the end of that one (against Sunderland), but in general we are.
“That’s the magic of football – each end of the pitch. We’re not giving much away and are defensively pretty sound. We’re just not capitalising on those big moments really.
“You can see how much it means to teams when they beat us. I think that’s a compliment to us and credit to the boys of how strong we are individually and as a team, and how other teams are seeing that as well.”