Middlesbrough coach Michael Carrick reveals halftime talk that seals 1-0 victory against Chelsea
Michael Carrick declared Middlesbrough’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea as his proudest night as Boro boss – praising both the players and the supporters for their efforts in creating a memorable result.
Carrick said: “It’s very special night. I got a bit carried away! To be honest, it’s more because I know what the players have put in – the effort and the spirit in that group. It was almost a chuckle when we got the two injuries… ‘how much harder are you going to make this for us?’ But when Clarkey and Josh came on they were unbelievable.
“To feel the emotion of that goal and see the reward for the effort, it was pretty special. It’s as proud as I’ve been [since arriving at Boro]. Knowing all the effort the players put in and how close a group they are. Seeing the stadium like that and the supporters supporting the lads, particularly when they needed that in the last ten minutes or so. Standing there and seeing that made me hugely proud. It was a good night for that. Hopefully we can create many more of them in the future.”
“There are two sides to it really and everything we had to go through,” he said. “There is the game tonight. We had to suffer a little bit to get the win. Then there is the other game to think about too. So there is part of me – and the players, I have to credit them too – that celebrates the effort and performance because it’s not easy at all to beat a team like that with that quality.
“To suffer the injuries early on as well when we didn’t have enough to start with. So tonight was a really special night. The atmosphere, Hayden scoring, it was such a good night for us. I think we’ve got to take that as a one-off and enjoy it.
“But then, the other side to it is the second leg which is a whole new ball game. We know the challenge we face. Have we got an advantage, have we not? You could argue maybe not at this stage. We know it will be tough down there. There is a lot to take in.
“It will be a whole new ball game. It’s a whole new challenge. We knew there were two games and so this is just half-time. We had to have that in mind tonight and manage the game. We know going down what we’re walking into. But what a great place to be going on the back of a first leg like tonight. Let’s try our best and see where it takes us.”