Preston moment shows Michael Carrick has to drop Middlesbrough player for Leicester City | OneFootball

Middlesbrough are now four games without a win after they were beaten 2-1 by Preston North End at Deepdale on Wednesday night.

Hardly an ideal time, then, to head to the King Power Stadium to face Championship leaders Leicester City, who have blown plenty of teams away this term.

Tom Glover struggles for Middlesbrough

In fairness, there was a lot to like about the Boro performance against North End, as they controlled possession for large parts and Finn Azaz scored a wonderful goal, which was his first for the club.

However, they would ultimately lose the game, and the defeat means they are seven points from the play-off spots, so they have a lot of work to do if they are to reach the top six once again.

Whilst it would be unfair to pin the defeat on one player, the reality is that keeper Tom Glover failed to convince again for the Teesside outfit, continuing his inconsistent run of form.

The Australian only arrived in the summer from Melbourne City, and he had to settle for the role as backup to Seny Dieng.

But, with the stopper suffering a thigh injury, Glover was given a run in the team.

Dieng is now back fit, having been on the bench for the past two games, but Carrick kept faith with Glover, although it’s a decision he may regret.

Even though it wasn't a howler, he got down slowly for Preston’s opener, which came courtesy of Liam Millar. The 26-year-old was beaten at his near post, and he lacked the quick reactions you would expect in that instance.

The response of Boro fans suggest they're running out of patience with the summer arrival.

Unfortunately, this isn’t Glover’s only error, as he made a costly mistake, in a similar fashion as he struggled to get down to his left when Sunderland nabbed an undeserved equaliser through Nazariy Rusyn at the Riverside Stadium a few weeks ago.

With Boro struggling to find the net with the same sort of consistency they showed last term, conceding avoidable goals is something they simply cannot afford.

Seny Dieng must come back into the XI

Therefore, Carrick needs to make a big decision ahead of the tough weekend trip to Leicester and that should be bringing Dieng into the starting XI.

The Senegal international has proven himself to be a reliable performer at this level over the years, impressing for QPR, and he had a decent start to life at Middlesbrough.

So, it’s not like they are turning to a rookie, as he was signed to be the number one.

You can understand why Carrick wanted to give Glover a chance, and the mistakes don’t mean that he is suddenly a terrible keeper.

Yet, the margin for error is so small for Boro as they approach the final 15 games of the campaign if they are to achieve their objectives.

They are in a situation where they need to win the vast majority of the upcoming fixtures to have any chance of reaching the play-offs, so there needs to be a ruthless streak with the team.

A trip to Leicester is a daunting one for most teams in the division, but Boro are one of only four teams in the Championship to have beaten Enzo Maresca’s side.