Boro’s season ended in failure at Coventry City’s CBS Arena this afternoon, with a 2-0 defeat meaning that the Teessiders finished the campaign in tenth position, the lowest finishing position of Carrick’s three seasons in charge.
The Boro boss is the longest-serving manager in the Championship, but his position was called into question a couple of months ago when results started nose-diving.
Steve Gibson backed him at that point, expressing confidence in the former England international’s ability to keep Boro progressing, but further questions will now be asked about whether a change at the top is needed.
Gibson will ultimately decide on what happens next, but Carrick is keen to continue and is confident he can use this season’s experiences to help ensure there is an improvement next term.
“I’m carrying on,” said Carrick, whose side finished the season with a run of just one win from the last six games. “I think we’ve got a good squad, and my focus is on carrying on.
“I’ll be speaking to the boys moving forward, to get ready for what will hopefully be a good season. I think we’ve got a good squad, good stability within the group. We’re doing a lot of good things, and if we can add to that and improve, things can look up from there.”
Boro’s season began poorly, with victories in just two of the opening six league games, and while things picked up in the autumn, when they climbed into a play-off position for most of December and January, there was a marked drop-off in the second half of the campaign.
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The sale of Emmanuel Latte Lath and the loss of Ben Doak to injury were clearly a factor, but performance levels dipped markedly with Carrick’s tactical inflexibility and inability to change the course of game increasingly looking like factors that were holding his team back.
Even today, other results meant that Boro would have finished in a play-off place had they won their final game, but while Finn Azaz hit the post in the first half, they were ultimately found wanting.
“We all tried to achieve something,” said Carrick. “We felt we could achieve something and felt we were good enough. We ultimately just haven’t been good enough.
“Today was defining because it was the last one, but ultimately you are where you are based on a lot of games played. We created our own expectations and wanted more.
“We’ve shown at times why the expectations are high and what we’re capable of doing, we just haven’t been able to do it long enough or often enough really.
“There are young players in that dressing room who will learn from it and benefit from it and be stronger for the experience. We’ve all got to use this as a stepping stone to something bigger.”
A number of Boro’s players were visibly distraught at the final whistle, with Carrick admitting there was a funereal atmosphere within the away dressing room as Coventry’s players continued to celebrate on the pitch.
“I’ve had plenty of setbacks in sport and you’ve just got to use them,” said Carrick. “They’re not nice when you go through them.
“But there are ways to go through them and the way we’ve gone through, and the group still feeling together but disappointed, offers some encouragement.
“The group is strong. We’re all in it together. We care about each other and want to do well for each other.
“That’s what gives me the encouragement that we can use the disappointment and benefit from it. It’s not a nice feeling right now but it’s part of sport and you’ve got to stand up, take it and deal with it.”