Former Manchester United schoolboy Josh Brownhill reflects on his meeting with Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick at Carrington ahead of Good Friday clash at the Riverside

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick was a player that Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill looked up to during his time at Manchester United.
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The ex-England ace, who earned 34 caps for the Three Lions, switched to Old Trafford from Spurs in 2006, around five years after Brownhill had arrived at Carrington as a schoolboy.

He went on to win the Premier League title five times during Sir Alex Ferguson's reign - and added a UEFA Champions League winner's medal - with the last of those following Brownhill's release as a teenager, just before his scholarship.

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The Clarets' vice-captain, who went on to sign for Preston North End, where he won promotion to the Championship via the play-offs in 2015, recalls the start of Carrick's journey to becoming a coach.

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: Josh Brownhill of Burnley warms up prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley and Sunderland at Turf Moor on March 31, 2023 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)BURNLEY, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: Josh Brownhill of Burnley warms up prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley and Sunderland at Turf Moor on March 31, 2023 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - MARCH 31: Josh Brownhill of Burnley warms up prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley and Sunderland at Turf Moor on March 31, 2023 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

He said: "There weren't many (interactions), I was a kid back then, but I remember them doing their coaching badges around the time when I was 14/15. A few of them came over and helped out with a few sessions.

"As a player he was fantastic, very under-rated, he's probably getting more recognition now than what he did at the time. As a person, and who he was as a player, there are no surprises that he's doing what he's doing now. He's a good manager.

"I've looked up to him, I've watched the way he was, I think he was a little bit different to me, I was probably a bit more attack-minded when I was coming through, so he wasn't the main person I took to, but as a player you recognise how good somebody is. If I have half the career he's had, I'll be happy. He was a fantastic player."

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Carrick, 41, who was Manchester United's Player of the Year in 2012-13, has guided Boro back into contention for promotion following an awful start to the campaign.

MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: Middlesbrough Head Coach Michael Carrick reacts on the sidelines during the Sky Bet Championship between Middlesbrough and Stoke City at Riverside Stadium on March 14, 2023 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: Middlesbrough Head Coach Michael Carrick reacts on the sidelines during the Sky Bet Championship between Middlesbrough and Stoke City at Riverside Stadium on March 14, 2023 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: Middlesbrough Head Coach Michael Carrick reacts on the sidelines during the Sky Bet Championship between Middlesbrough and Stoke City at Riverside Stadium on March 14, 2023 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The club were at the bottom end of the table when the former West Ham United star took over in October, but he has since masterminded a remarkable recovery, with 16 wins from his 23 games in charge lifting them up to third.

They're now just six points adrift of secopnd place Sheffield United, who are the Clarets' opponents at Turf Moor on Easter Monday.

Speaking of the job Carrick has done at the Riverside, Brownhill said: “Absolutely [he has transformed them] and there’s no surprise there really.

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"The work he was doing at Man United as well and how he was as a player and the standards that you could see he demands from everybody, there’s no surprise that they’ve got to where they’ve got to so we know it’s going to be very difficult.

Middlesbrough are a very good team with a very good manager, they’ve had very good form throughout the season. They probably didn’t get the result they wanted over the last few games, but there’s no hiding from the fact they’re a very good team and they’ll be difficult to beat them.”

Brownhill added: “Everybody is really excited. These are the games that you want to play in, the best in the league and on this weekend where anything can happen, it’s coming up to the business end of the season so it’s definitely two games we’re really looking forward to.

“We’re a team that’s in really good form and we have been throughout the majority of the season so it’s going to be an exciting game for sure.”