Gary Pallister makes exciting Middlesbrough, Michael Carrick prediction | OneFootball

Gary Pallister has claimed Michael Carrick will stick with Middlesbrough going into the new Championship season.

Carrick oversaw a season of ups and downs as the Teesside outfit narrowly missed out on a second consecutive top six finish.

A slow start to the season proved a huge stumbling block to promotion success, as Middlesbrough were constantly playing catch up to their rivals.

Boro missed out on promotion last year with a play-off semi-final defeat to Coventry City, but were unable to earn another top six finish in 2024.

Despite the underwhelming campaign, there is no immediate pressure on Carrick’s role at the Riverside.

Gary Pallister makes Michael Carrick future claim

Pallister expects Carrick to stay, and has urged Middlesbrough to avoid making the same mistakes as this time last year, when they were quite slow to complete their transfer business.

The 58-year-old has highlighted the poor start to the campaign as a symptom of their approach to the transfer market, suggesting more proactivity is needed instead.

“I think you know if we can get recruitment right again this year with Michael at the helm I think we've got a good chance,” said Pallister speaking to Football League World on behalf of BetVictor.

“I think last year we were too slow out of the blocks, getting everything sorted before the season kicked off and I think that cost us.

“Ultimately, we had such a slow start of the season.

“We were always playing catch up and could never quite get there.

“If we can keep things in place, add to the squad, add a bit more quality, if we give Michael the right tools, then I'm sure we can challenge for promotion again.”

Gary Pallister's Championship promotion prediction

Pallister also praised Carrick as a manager, and believes that he can guide the club to a promotion push, even if he expects the likes of Burnley to be favourites next season.

“I think we're seeing a very good manager in the making in Michael Carrick,” he continued.

“He was very highly thought of at Manchester United.

“There was talk about him maybe getting a job at one stage and I think we've got a very good manager here at Middlesbrough.

“I think it is important that the club show that they want to compete, that they want to make a real effort to get into the Premier League because it's going to be difficult this year.

“The teams that have come down, Burnley absolutely ran away with the league last time.

“I expect them to probably be the favourites.

“I'm pretty sure they'll be the favourites to go straight back up.

“They've got the parachute payments as well, which is a huge advantage.

“So the likes of Boro are right up against it.

“But if we can replicate the form that we showed in Michael's first season when I thought it was some of the best football, if not the best football I've ever seen a Boro team play, albeit in the Championship, then I think we can get the fans behind him and have a real shout at getting into the top flight.

Gary Pallister's Middlesbrough summer hope

However, Pallister finished by suggesting his hope for Boro is to see Carrick stay and to bring some stability to the club going forward.

“But I just hope things are really settled before the season starts,” he added.

“I expect Michael to stay.

“I think most managers have a really good working relationship with Steve Gibson, who's a tremendous chairman to work for, and he's been tremendous for the club over the years.

“I think the last few years there's always been an expectancy that we can challenge.

“But we started so badly, it's really hindered in the run-ins.

“If we do the same, we'll end up with the same result.

“We have to be settled.

“If we have players that want to leave, that has to get sorted out.

“If Latte Lath was to walk in and say ‘I want a transfer, I want to leave. I want to go’ that needs to be sorted.

“It dragged on so much last year.

“But I do believe that Middlesbrough have a chance of getting promoted.

“Right now, obviously, I'm not seeing what they've done in the transfer market during the summer.

“Looking ahead, you think if it hasn't changed that much, I think you probably may be looking at playoffs again.

“But if you can give Michael the tools like I say, then who knows.”

Middlesbrough finished eighth in the Championship table last season, missing out on a play-off place by just four points.

Carrick deserves to be backed by Middlesbrough this summer

Carrick did extremely well during the 2022-23 campaign, taking over the side when they were battling relegation and guiding them to a play-off place.

A difficult summer saw a number of key players depart, and Boro acted too slowly to replace them.

This was a huge mistake and proved costly to their promotion hopes for last season.

The club must learn from this experience and be more proactive in the transfer market, as only one or two more additions might be needed to bridge the gap to the top six.