Michael Carrick has fired a warning to his Middlesbrough players following the release of their 2024/25 Championship fixtures.
Middlesbrough are looking to finally return to the Premier League in the forthcoming campaign after seven years away from the top flight.
Boro’s pre-season preparation has already begun, with the majority of the first-team returning to training on June 24th.
New Middlesbrough signing Delano Burgzorg shared his first training pictures with the club on Instagram recently.
Elsewhere, after being given some extra time off following his international commitments earlier this month, Emmanuel Latte Lath has been working hard ahead of his return to Teesside.
With Boro’s pre-season now underway, attention has turned toward the 2024/25 Championship campaign.
Middlesbrough’s fixture list for the forthcoming season was released on June 26th with key dates, including the Tees-Wear derby, having been revealed.
Michael Carrick sends warning to Middlesbrough ahead of facing newly-promoted teams
After finishing four points off the playoffs in the previous campaign, Michael Carrick will no doubt be keen to start 2024/25 on the front foot as he bids to win promotion at the third time of asking.
On paper, the Teessiders have a fairly kind start to the season, which begins with a home meeting versus a Swansea City team who finished 14th last term.
Following the Swansea match, Middlesbrough face two of the three newly-promoted teams.
Boro travel to Derby County on Saturday, August 17th, before a home meeting with Portsmouth on Saturday, August 24th.
While Boro could not have asked for an easier start to the season, Carrick has warned Boro should not underestimate either of the two newly promoted teams they face in August, as per Teesside Live.
He said: “After Swansea we have two newly promoted sides in Derby and Portsmouth, which is definitely a challenge. Just because they’re just coming up doesn’t mean that they’re lower in the ladder.
“I think Ipswich showed that last season and then there are other examples over the years. Derby will be their first home game so they’ll be up for that.
“There are all sorts of different challenges along the way and it’s a slight unknown because we haven’t played against them in quite some time. We’ll have to deal with that when it comes.”
Why Carrick should be concerned about facing newly-promoted sides
Carrick’s comments on Derby and Portsmouth may be viewed by some as a way to motivate his players early in the season.
However, there is precedent for Boro struggling against the new teams in the Championship, including in 2023/24.
Ipswich Town, Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday were the new sides in the second division last season and Boro did not fare well against them.
Middlesbrough lost their first meeting with Ipswich 2-0 before drawing 1-1 at the back end of the campaign.
The North East outfit also drew and lost to Plymouth, with a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in April their only victory over the newly-promoted teams last time out.