Michael Carrick took charge of his first training session as Middlesbrough manager this week, and footage suggests the former midfielder will very hands-on in the coming days, weeks and months.
The 41-year-old accepted his first permanent job in management on Monday, replacing former boss Chris Wilder, who was sacked at the start of October after winning just two of the club's opening 11 games in the Championship.
Last year, he enjoyed a brief spell in charge of Manchester United, where he was given the caretaker role following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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And the former England international is "very excited" about taking over at the Riverside. “I’ll give everything to help develop the team and keep moving the club forward and make you the supporters proud," he said. "I can’t wait to get started.”
In his unveiling as new Middlesbrough boss, Carrick also opened up about conversations he had with Sir Alex Ferguson prior to getting the job. “I spoke to Sir Alex a few times," he said.
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"It’s well documented that he has a real pride and a care about ex-players progressing and being coaches, managers and takes a real pride and care in helping them as well. He’s certainly done that to me and I really appreciate the advice he’s given me.”
Carrick, who made 464 appearances for United after signing from Spurs in 2006, will have picked up a few pointers from Sir Alex during his trophy-laden spell at Old Trafford.
And based on footage from his first training session as Boro manager, the charismatic Carrick is eager to make his presence known – just like Ferguson did all those years ago.
In the below footage, he gets involved with training by offering some expertise on how to open up play from midfield.
A six-minute version of the session has been uploaded to Middlesbrough's official YouTube channel and fans were quick to praise Carrick for his training methods.
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One commented on the video, saying: "He wants the team to play a certain way and it’s encouraging to see him out on the training pitch trying to implement his ideas on the team," while another wrote: "Love the way Carrick is speaking there, hopefully we’ll see a lot more from our midfield."
A third said: "Out of all the managers I've seen with the players so far lately, he seems a lot more vocal and on their level."
You can watch the highlights from the session at Rockliffe below.
So what should Middlesbrough fans expect when it comes to Carrick's style of play? He was only in charge of former club United for two games, but his team was set up in a high press 4-3-3.
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In an interview with the FA last year, he gave a flavour of what he expects from his team.
"Spaces to attack is really my main focus when watching the games," he said. "Whether that’s looking at how to attack when the goalkeeper has the ball, where the space is, and how we can build-up through the pitch.
"It’s also about having an idea of how we can hurt the opposition from all areas of the pitch. That’s my first thought, really. My instinct takes me to that. Within that, there is observing the general game: how the opposition set up and what their strengths are."
He added: "You’ve got to understand the individual player and find out what makes them tick. As the generations go by, the characteristics of players change a little bit, and the personalities change a little bit because the world does. Socially, that’s just how it is. So, I think you really have to understand that and be able to deal with that."
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Middlesbrough FCTopics: Michael Carrick, Middlesbrough, EFL Championship, Manchester United, England
