Furthermore, the Boro manager acknowledges that unless they take swift action to resolve the situation, his team can probably forget about launching a significant promotion challenge.
The last 19 games have seen only one back-to-back win for the Teessiders, after they won six straight league games in September and October. That was in December, after they had defeated West Brom at home after winning at Swansea.
While Boro’s victory over league leaders Leicester City last weekend demonstrated what they are capable of when they are at their best, Carrick is aware that his team will not necessarily put on a repeat performance when they host struggling Plymouth Argyle at the Riverside this afternoon. Far too many times, a strong showing has been followed by a below-par display.
We’ve been saying for a while now that consistency is the key component, according to Carrick. We’ve demonstrated our ability to play well and win games against what is perhaps the top team in the division.
“But it’s about putting it together over a period of time, and that’s obviously the challenge. We can try to write a whole new chapter between now and the end of the season, and see where that takes us.
“The boys have taken a lift from it (beating Leicester), but we’re definitely not getting carried away. Come Saturday, last Saturday has gone. We’ll certainly take the boost and the belief, and maybe a bit of extra energy and confidence going into the game, but consistency is key.
“One game doesn’t make a season – or even two games given that we’ve beaten them twice. That doesn’t tell the story of the season – it’s about putting a run of results together. That’s always the biggest challenge in this league.”
Last weekend’s win at the King Power Stadium was Boro’s seventh on their travels this season, meaning they have now won more games on the road than at the Riverside.
The Teessiders’ 16 home matches so far this term have resulted in seven defeats, three draws and just six victories, a record Carrick accepts is nowhere near good enough.
He said: “Ideally, we’re striving for the Riverside to be a fortress. It gives you a foundation. We don’t approach home games to away games much differently, to be honest. Last week was maybe a bit of a one-off, and understandably so, but most of the time, it’s pretty much the same whatever game we’re playing.
“Of course, you’re meant to have some sort of an advantage from playing at home, and we’ve got to try to take advantage of every little bit we can between now and the end of the season. Every little bit matters.”
Whereas Boro were able to play on the break at Leicester last weekend, their home matches often see them tasked with breaking down a massed defence as the opposition camp in and look to hit them on the counter-attack.
Carrick’s side are likely to enjoy the majority of possession against Plymouth this afternoon, so they will have to come up with a way of turning that dominance of the ball into goalscoring opportunities.
The Boro boss said: “There’s changes being made, certainly tactically in terms of what some teams do (when they visit the Riverside). Some teams maybe haven’t shown what they were going to do before the game, but then on the other side, we change for certain games, like last week, and that’s part of football.
“You can plan all you like expecting to be up against certain things, but you’ve got to be ready to adapt. Teams are going to change to try to stop you – we’re going to be trying to stop the opposition.
“It’s about who can change, adapt and evolve, even during the games or during a half of football. Sometimes, that’s down to the players seeing it and doing something about it, because it’s not always easy to get the messages on. That’s just part of the challenge of who will come out on top.”
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