Kris Boyd: Carrick Will Get Gibson Support At Boro; Doak Made Right Move

Kris Boyd is confident Michael Carrick will get the backing of Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson in the transfer market if he can secure promotion to the Premier League.

Boyd scored six goals in 27 appearances for Boro in his one and only season at the Riverside Stadium in the 2010/11 campaign following a successful five years with Rangers.

The Scot has been keeping a close on eye on Middlesbrough, who went into the international break in seventh spot on the back of heavy wins against Luton and QPR.

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Football betting sites make Boro 5/4 to secure a return to the top flight for the first time since the 2015/16 season under Aitor Karanka.

And Boyd believes Middlesbrough can do just that under former Manchester United midfielder and briefly caretaker manager Carrick, who has been at the club for just over two years.

Boyd: Boro Could Be Promoted

In an exclusive interview with Gambling.com, Boyd said: "Michael Carrick decided to leave Manchester United and go out on his own, and he's done a really good job. 

“When you look at where Middlesbrough are, I think they are probably a club that's in between the Premier League and Championship. 

"I think they had great big aspirations to kick on and try and get back there [to the Premier League], and they did it under Karanka a few years ago. 

“The chairman backs the club, he backs the managers and I'm sure Michael Carrick will feel that he has been backed.” 

Back-to-back victories have put Boro on the fringe of the play-offs and if they can reach the top flight, Boyd is adamant Gibson will splash the cash to ensure their stay in the Premier League is not another brief one. 

He said: "There's a chance this year that they could go up. They had a little bit of a stuttering start and they seem to have got themselves back together. 

“They’ve had a couple of good results recently, and they'll be hoping that they can carry on.

"If you go back a few years, and you think of some of the names that were at the club when it was flying in the Premier League - if they can get back up, they can attract players. The chairman will back his managers and spend the money if they can get back there."

Doak Has Scot What It Takes

One player who has made a great impression on Boyd is fellow Scot Ben Doak, whose eye-catching performances at Boro on loan from Liverpool earned him a call-up to the national side.

The 19-year-old winger missed out on Euro 2024 because of injury, but played in all six of Scotland’s Nations League games during which they finished third in Group A1.

Doak has only made a handful appearances for Liverpool since joining the club from Celtic in March 2022, but he has thrived playing in the Championship.

Boyd believes Doak made the right decision to drop down a division and that playing first-team football will help him improve.

He said: "He obviously left Celtic and went to Liverpool, and it can be tough for young kids to go away and create their own career and pathway. 

“Sometimes as a youngster when you move to a big club like Liverpool it can be difficult, but I think you've got to give Ben Doak a lot of credit. 

"It would have been quite easy just to sit at Liverpool and train and play with the guys that are there, but he decided to go out and learn at Middlesbrough and perform the way he has. 

"When you look at a lot of kids nowadays, they're quite content just sitting within a squad, and I think that’s something to admire about him. 

“He wants to play football, he wants to go and test himself, and he's improved by doing that.”

Boyd thinks Doak has been a breath of fresh air for the Scotland team, who face a relegation play-off against either Greece, Austria, Turkey or Ukraine in March next year.  

He said: "And by doing that he's now got himself in the Scotland set-up, and he's something different. A lot of players nowadays don't want to go and take people on, they're quite content just passing the ball and getting back on it. 

"He's an old-fashioned winger. He'll get on it, try and isolate people and take them on. He can play the one-twos as well, but he's comfortable going and taking players on.

"You only need to look at a few of his performances since he's joined Middlesbrough to see that he's grown and will continue to get better."