Kieran Scott explains why Middlesbrough took so long to sack Michael Carrick

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Of all the managerial changes in the summer, Middlesbrough’s process of parting ways with Michael Carrick may well have been the longest, most drawn-out of them all.

From the outside, it was clear that Middlesbrough had been going backwards during Michael Carrick’s time on Teesside. They came fourth in his first season, before an eighth place finish in 2023/24, and last season’s tenth place finish was the final straw.

Clearly, after Middlesbrough’s brilliant start to the season, it looks like getting rid of Carrick and bringing in Rob Edwards was the right call to make.

However, fans were unhappy at the time that it took so long to decide to sack Carrick despite what they felt was an obvious failure from the former manager.

• READ MORE: Michael Carrick ‘learned a lot’ from Jose Mourinho before Middlesbrough job but one key skill clearly evaded him

Why Middlesbrough had to sack Michael Carrick

At the time of Carrick’s dismissal back in June, EFL experts questioned the timing of Middlesbrough’s decision, suggesting they had left it late to let him go.

Now, Head of Football at Middlesbrough Kieran Scott has explained the rationale behind the process in an interview with BBC Sport Teesside.

He said: “If things were going to change we would have stuck with Carrick, and we would have moved on. But we weren’t given the assurances really that things were going to move on how we wanted it to be.

“It was a decision that was made between Steve Gibson, Neil Bausor and myself that we wanted to review what had gone on the season before, we were disappointed. We were worried that we weren’t really showing any signs of progressing.

“It was a lengthy review. To be fair to Michael and the guys, they deserved it after two and a half years. It wasn’t something we were just going to do overnight. We wanted to give them plenty of opportunity for a discussion about how we saw things going forward. It did take a little bit of time.”

Given Carrick was the longest-serving manager in the Championship at that point, the board obviously felt he had earned the right to make a case for his position, and Scott was not concerned by the fact discussions took almost a month before a decision was made.

He added: “That was on the basis that we wanted to do the right thing. Michael deserved that time to speak about it in depth. It wasn’t a one meeting review, it went on for three or four weeks and a lot of meetings within that time. Obviously we came to the decision in the end that it was right for a change.

“We didn’t perhaps feel that we were going to move in the direction that we’d all discussed and hoped for. The decision was made that we were going to start again and move Michael on.”

• READ MORE: Rob Edwards sends encouraging message to Middlesbrough star after being given a second chance

Middlesbrough made the right decision with Rob Edwards

You’d have been hard-pressed to find any Boro fans that were enthused by the appointment of Rob Edwards this summer, but the tide of popular opinion has shifted very quickly.

Heading into the weekend, Middlesbrough are top of the Championship table with four wins out of four and just one goal conceded.

Despite all the doubts, the decision to hire Edwards appears to have been the right one, and there is real belief now that Boro have the tools to mount a serious promotion push after three years of not quite being good enough.

Boro recruited well this summer, they kept hold of Hayden Hackney, and the players seem to have bought into Edwards’ system instantly. Turns out, that deliberation over Carrick’s future was all worth it, as the Middlesbrough hierarchy have struck gold now.