EFL expert makes bold 2025/26 Michael Carrick and Middlesbrough claim

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Middlesbrough have had Michael Carrick at the helm since October 2022, making him the longest-serving manager in the Championship currently.

It means there are only 14 managers in the 92 who have had a longer stint in charge than Michael Carrick, who has overseen Championship play-off pushing campaigns in each season he has been at Boro.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	39	26	7	6	56	29	27	83
2	LeedsLeeds	39	23	12	4	78	27	51	81
3	BurnleyBurnley	39	22	15	2	53	11	42	81
4	SunderlandSunderland	39	20	12	7	56	37	19	72
5	CoventryCoventry	39	17	8	14	56	51	5	59
6	West BromWest Brom	39	13	18	8	48	35	13	57
7	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	39	16	9	14	59	49	10	57
8	Bristol CityBristol City	39	14	15	10	49	42	7	57
9	WatfordWatford	39	15	8	16	47	51	-4	53
10	NorwichNorwich	39	13	13	13	61	54	7	52
11	BlackburnBlackburn	39	15	7	17	42	41	1	52

Middlesbrough, yet again, are one of the main contenders in the play-off race, but they still face some tricky tests during the run-in for each side in the top six mix.

After an inconsistent few months, Boro head into the Blackburn Rovers clash tonight with four wins in their last six. Carrick will wish to avoid unwanted records and he has team selection decisions to make ahead of 8pm.

• READ MORE: Michael Carrick’s ‘difficult’ Blackburn Rovers verdict may have had Middlesbrough worried, they won’t be now

Championship pundit George Elek backs Michael Carrick for 2025/26 Middlesbrough role

Irrespective of what happens from between now and May, one pundit believes Carrick deserves another season in charge. Not The Top 20’s George Elek spoke via their ‘Dear Ali & George‘ show, where he explained his thoughts.

Sam Parry asked one of the listener questions and said: “Assuming Boro don’t go up this season, stick or twist with Carrick?”

Elek responded: “I’d just about say stick still. For two reasons. “One is purely just a general one. You look through the EFL at the moment and teams who stick by managers in tough periods are generally rewards for it. There will be a multitude of reasons for that.

“In part, because the longer a manager stays at a club, the more they can implement what they want to do, the more they can make sure the players they have available in their squad are to be used in the way that they want, and most importantly is because they probably learn a lot.

“[They learn] through failure and difficult periods, they come out of it on the other side a better manager and better equipped to manage a club, and there’s a case with him where we’ve seen Middlesbrough in so many isolated periods of Carrick being incredibly good.

“This is his first job. My hunch — unlike other high profile players of his generation — is that Michael Carrick will end up being a successful manager somewhere. I think, if he leaves Middlesbrough, he probably ends up getting a job somewhere else and making a good fist of it.

“I wouldn’t write him off. I can see why there is the continued frustration — add to that the crippling injury situation this season, which will have played a massive part; a much bigger part than Carrick in why they’re not contending at the top end of the table, in my mind. Or at least as a stable play-off side.

“I would stick for now with a caveat being that he doesn’t have that long to show what he’s capable of. I don’t think there is loads of evidence to suggest that, if Middlesbrough sack Michael Carrick, there’s loads of managers ready to come in and do a better job than him.”

• READ MORE: Middlesbrough managers ranked by win percentage, and how Michael Carrick compares

How crucial the play-offs are to Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough future

Securing promotion is vital to retaining key players for any side, including Finn Azaz who has been linked to Crystal Palace. For Boro, they will want to avoid that but know it could spell the end for Azaz and for Carrick, too.

Valerien Ismael is also under pressure and he won’t want a repeat of previous Middlesbrough encounters, while Carrick’s side have been backed by experts to get a result at Ewood Park tonight. It’s essential that they do to apply pressure on the other sides in the mix before they play tomorrow.

You get the feeling that Boro must now secure their place — if not go all the way and win it — in order for Carrick to remain in post at The Riverside. Of course, never say never in football, but there is a decent chance of this being his last seven games in charge.

They have the attacking quality and the depth to outscore plenty of teams they come up against in an open game. But can Boro put that together consistently and against the league’s very best teams and best Championship players?

Carrick is an in-game tinkerer but that hasn’t been an area they have excelled in tactically this term. The injury issues have been apparent for a while now as well, but that does not excuse some of the displays they have put in this season.

Opta believe there is a 32.22% chance of securing a top six place, with each of the three sides directly around them given a greater chance. That number would surely change if results go their way again this weekend.