Hayden Hackney’s Middlesbrough ‘dream’ has been crushed as decline under Michael Carrick continues

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Middlesbrough have been on a steady decline since Michael Carrick’s first season at the helm.

Middlesbrough ended 2022/23 in fourth place, losing out to Coventry City in the Championship play-off semi-finals.

Boro’s 2023/24 campaign came to a close with the club down in eighth and four points off the top six.

A drop off was somewhat expected after the Teessiders lost 29-goal star Chuba Akpom and several loan players.

However, 2024/25 was the season Middlesbrough were supposed to make a proper push for promotion after keeping hold of all their big stars last summer, including Hayden Hackney.

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Hayden Hackney’s Middlesbrough ‘dream’

But, when all was said and done, the North East outfit slumped to a disappointing 10th place with five fewer points than they managed in the previous campaign.

Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough future is under threat, with owner Steve Gibson now conducting an internal review before making a decision on his manager.

Regardless, Boro’s failure under Carrick in 2024/25 has all but certainly killed any chance Hackney had of achieving his Middlesbrough dream.

Speaking in March, Hackney outlined his ‘dream’ of taking Boro to the Premier League, as per Teesside Live.

He said: “Yeah, that is the dream [promotion with Boro]. I know I say it a lot, but that is the ultimate dream.

“To take Boro to the Premier League, that would be everything that I wished for as a kid. And then to play with Boro in the Premier League would be unbelievable.”

Hayden Hackney expected to leave Middlesbrough

This past season was, on paper at least, the best chance Boro have had for some time of winning promotion.

Gibson made a point of keeping hold of all his best stars in the summer, while the battle to get into those bottom two play-off places was really poor.

However, it did not work out, and as EFL Analysis have previously reported, Hackney is expected to leave Middlesbrough this summer after they missed out on the play-offs.

It means the Redcar native’s dream of reaching the top flight with his long-time club will come to an end in the coming months.