'Everyone loves him' - The inside story of how Man United hero Michael Carrick is faring with Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough were just a point above the relegation zone in the Championship when Michael Carrick was appointed in October.

The decision to appoint Carrick was certainly a risk. The 41-year-old had been part of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's coaching staff at Old Trafford before briefly taking caretaker charge of the team, but this was something different.

Carrick, who was born in Wallsend, Newcastle, said in his first press conference that his decision to take his first job in management with Middlesbrough 'just felt right' and he spoke about his enduring connection with the North East.

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Just five months after his appointment, Middlesbrough have moved from the bottom of the table to vying for an automatic promotion place. They sit third in the Championship and Carrick has emphatically delivered on the touchline.

Carrick was born in the North East, but Manchester is also his home and the Manchester Evening News sat down with Craig Johns, Middlesbrough reporter at TeesideLive, to get insight into his successful first taste of management.

Q) What were the first impressions of Carrick and what was expected from him?

This is obviously Carrick's first managerial role, with the exception of that three-game spell in charge of United, and it's easy to forget now that Boro were really struggling when he arrived, both in results and in confidence.

Realistically, I think you'd have asked anybody at the club or indeed supporters back then what was expected of him, initially it would have just been to steer Boro away from the threat of relegation to League One - something that was a legitimate concern given they were just one place and point off