Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick believes his players demonstrated their true spirit in defeating Southampton.
Before sealing a much-needed 2-1 win over the Saints, Middlesbrough were rooted to the bottom of the Championship table having failed to win any of their opening seven games.
Many fans will have feared the winless run was going to continue when Adam Armstrong opened the scoring for Southampton, but Middlesbrough struck back with goals from Riley McGree and Jonny Howson.
“It’s hugely positive,” Carrick stated after the game. I just remarked to them in the dressing room, I was standing on the touchline in the second half thinking, ‘whatever happens here, I couldn’t ask any more of any of the players’.
“I speak a lot about how strong the group are, but words are words and some people might not believe what I’m saying. But it’s times where you’re tested where you see people’s true characters come out. That’s when you see what people are about and you saw that today.
“We started well, but we went a goal behind and it wouldn’t have come easy for them to put in the performance and the effort that they did.
“You could see the togetherness and the spirit, and that’s what made me most proud. The win came and that was brilliant. I was standing there on the touchline in the second half really proud of them anyway. That’s more powerful than a one-off result.”
Carrick was particularly moved by the outpouring of support from fans who had previously endured a dismal run of outcomes.
“I think that will help us moving forward, and we’ll be stronger for the way we’ve all stuck together when things haven’t been going so well,” he said.
“The fans are included in that; seeing the stadium like that at the end, with everyone enjoying and celebrating, was fantastic.” It’s just one game, but it’s not so much the game and the outcome as it is the entire feeling and communal support we feel.”
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