Don Hutchison believes Michael Carrick “would be a good fit again” for Middlesbrough

Former Everton, West Ham and Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison believes Michael Carrick deserves another chance at Middlesbrough, insisting there’s no reason why a return to the Riverside couldn’t work a second time.

Boro are still reeling from the surprise departure of Rob Edwards to Premier League side Wolves.

Despite the off-field upheaval, Middlesbrough have continued their fine form, producing a defiant 2-1 victory over Birmingham City at the weekend to stay firmly in the promotion race.

After 15 games, Boro sit in the automatic promotion places on 29 points – just five behind league leaders Coventry City – as they look to keep their momentum going.

For exclusive stories and all the detailed EFL news you need, subscribe to The Football League Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day.

WATCH THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE PAPER PODCAST HERE

Successful reunion

Speaking exclusively to www.sportscasting.com, Hutchison feels Carrick’s strong relationship with chairman Steve Gibson could pave the way for a successful reunion.

“I think Michael would be a good fit again,” he said. “I think his relationship with Steve Gibson, the chairman and owner, is a strong one.

“I don’t think Steve Gibson really wanted to sack him, but he sort of had to because of the run of results.

“I think the two of them are professional enough to make it work again.

“A very steady guy, Michael, I know him really well, still mates with him today. Very steady on and off the pitch.

“Probably, he would have learned a lot from the poor form that he was in that got him the sack, and maybe if he’s going in there again, he might do one or two things a little bit differently. So I think that’d be a very good fit.”

Carrick guided Boro to the play-offs in his first season, but failed to do so in the previous campaigns, before he was sacked in the summer.

Hutchison believes the 44-year-old’s calm temperament and tactical intelligence make him the ideal figure to steady the ship once more.

Confident

Elsewhere, Hutchison also gave his thoughts on the battles at opposite ends of the Championship table.

He backed Chris Wilder to keep Sheffield United up despite their torrid start, saying: “I’m hoping he can keep them up because I can’t imagine a world where Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United end up getting relegated again into League One. I mean, I just can’t imagine that world.

“Obviously, Wednesday are almost certainly doomed because of the points deduction, and it’s close to impossible to battle back from there.

“I’m confident in Chris Wilder as a manager, though. If anyone can steer Sheffield United away from the bottom three, it’s him.”

Play-offs

And the ex-Scotland international thinks Millwall can earn promotion through the play-offs.

“I think they can,” he said. “I think it’ll be via the playoffs. I think the job that they’re doing at the minute, they’re in the playoff spots at the moment.

“To try and catch Coventry, that’s not going to happen unless they go on a really good run of form. If you stick three or four wins on the spin together, it’s doable.

“I just know that league. I know how brutal it can be. I know once you get to that Christmas period, you can either fly into that top two or be a little bit inconsistent, because it’s hard work, it’s a grind, it’s hard graft.

“I’m thinking if they are going to go up, it’s going to be via the playoffs.”

Old school nature

Hutchinson also admitted that he’d love to see Premier League teams experience a trip to The Den.

“Oh, it’d be amazing,” he added. “It would be absolutely amazing. Because Millwall do it their way.

“They’re not shy in coming forward and saying, you know, everyone hates us, we don’t care. As long as you don’t cross the line, it’s fine.

“And it’s a weird one because I like what Millwall stands for in terms of the old school nature. There’s a lot of work still to be done, but I think it’ll be amazing. I think it’d be great.”

For full comments from Don Hutchison’s interview, visit www.sportscasting.com.

READ MORE: Middlesbrough fuming as Rob Edwards heads for Wolves