It’s been a strong start to management for Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough. So far, the former Manchester United man has won seven of Boro’s 11 Championship games during his time at the club.

To say this is Carrick’s first non-caretaker managerial job, it’s quite an impressive return. His almost instant success as a first team coach has caught many by surprise – he was even nominated for Manager of the Month in November. As a player, he played under Alex Ferguson – there’s no doubt he learned a lot from the legendary Scot.

In the last three and a half years, Middlesbrough have had four head coaches – Jonathan Woodgate, Neil Warnock, Chris Wilder and now Michael Carrick. Of these four, Carrick has by far the highest win percentage at 61.5% – in second is Chris Wilder, who had a win record of just 40%.

With Carrick at the helm, Middlesbrough have turned into an entertaining, high pressing team capable of scoring plenty of goals. Under the former Manchester United man, Middlesbrough have failed to score in just one of their 11 league games.

He also sorted out Boro’s poor away form. Before he came to the club, Middlesbrough had won just two away games all season. Since his arrival, they have won an additional four. On top of this, they have not lost a home game under Carrick, only failing to win once at the Riverside Stadium.

Several audiences saw the appointment of Carrick as a massive gamble. However, thus far, it’s a gamble that is paying off. You would have to think his credibility and man management skills have allowed him to produce somewhat of a “Midas Touch” so far Carrick’s brand of football coupled with the rise up the table are hard to argue with – results speak for themselves and the table does not lie.