Oxford United boss impressed by Michael Carrick job at Middlesbrough

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Carrick was appointed Boro head coach in October 2022, and guided the club to the Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-finals in his first campaign, prior to an eighth-placed finish and the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup last season.

Boro sit seventh in the Championship ahead of their trip to Oxford United this afternoon.

Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick (Image: Owen Humphreys/ PA Wire) U’s head coach Buckingham said: “I really enjoy the way he’s gone about it. We speak a lot around English coaches, and he’s another young English coach that’s operating at a high level, and not just operating at a high level, but really showcasing what young English coaches can do.

“He’s got his team playing some very good football. He’s been able to do that in a very short space of time, but I’d like to think the same about us to an extent as well.

“It’s always nice to share the touchline with the types of managers that we are now sharing them with.”

He added: “When you look at their squad, they’re a team that are undoubtedly set up for at least play-off football this year.

“They’re another team which I’m sure will put themselves in and amongst that pack that are chasing promotion.

“I think in the last two games, something’s really clicked for them. The goalscoring element has certainly done that, but the Kassam does some funny things to teams, as we’ve seen so far.

“Our three-sided stadium is not for everyone. If we can put a strong case of ourselves across, it might come together quite nicely.”