We Are Middlesbrough

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Former Middlesbrough hero George Boateng says other results in the play-off battle reprieved his former club after their disappointing loss at Sheffield Wednesday.

With Bristol City and Coventry City, the two sides above them, both losing as well, the gap remains at three points following the Hillsborough setback.

Boro are away to the Sky Blues on the final day of nthe regular season and know that on Saturday, they must at least match the result of Frank Lampard's sideto take it to that last match.

"Because everybody lost, they all did each other a favour," Boateng told BBC Radio Tees. "Everything is now prolonged for another week."

Michael Carrick's team host managerless Norwich City on Saturday, while Coventry go to relegation-threatened Luton Town.

Netherlands midfielder Boateng, a member of the Boro side that won the League Cup in 2004 and reached the Uefa Cup final two years later, knows that nothing less than three points at The Riverside will suffice.

"I don't know how the game against Coventry away will go," he said.

"They are quite in form and very strong at home, so I can see a victory for them, so Middlesbrough really need to perform and beat Norwich to have a foothold in the play-offs."

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Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick says the side's season "is still alive" despite a disappointing 2-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday.

The Owls had not won in six league games before defeating Boro however with both Coventry City and Bristol City also conceding a defeat, the loss has not left the Teesside club worse off on the table.

"In the end, it hasn't changed a lot of what the next two games are going to bring but certainly today, we could have won the game and everyone else could have won their games and we'd be in the same situation," Carrick told BBC Radio Tees.

"If we won the game, we'd be in a better situation. I'm not denying that.

"For our mindset, we've got to learn about managing our games better in the thick of it and managing the space on the pitch and being more compact as a team.

"Disappointed with today but the season is still alive."

Middlesbrough are currently in seventh place, three points adrift of Coventry in sixth.

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Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick said that it was worth the wait as his side snatched an injury-time winner against bottom side Plymouth Argyle.

Boro looked set to drop two points further adrift in their quest to make the play-offs until Tommy Conway's 93rd-minute penalty kick.

Conway's 13th goal of the season was only the second time this campaign that the Teessiders have won a league game in injury time.

And it means they remain three points behind sixth-placed Coventry City with three games to go. They include a trip to the Sky Blues in the final game of the season on 3 May.

"The games are going to flip at times and the picture is going to change quite quickly, but I thought we deserved it," Carrick told BBC Radio Tees.

"We kept going - it's not easy when you have to break teams down all the time. I thought we created enough to score but it's worth the wait. The late ones are the best.

"Great composure from Tommy to take that penalty at the end under the circumstances and it's a big result for us.

"When you get to the end and there's a lot at stake, there are going to be moments and it's whether we can seize them really. Today was for Tommy really."

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Middlesbrough's play-off hopes suffered a setback in the 1-0 loss at Millwall on Saturday.

Former Boro midfielder Neil Maddison told the Red Alert podcast that boss Michael Carrick's inability to adapt their playing style in-game contributed to the defeat.

We asked for your views on whether Carrick is too predictable and if he is costing Boro a shot at promotion. Here's what you said:

Kenny: Carrick obviously lacks tactical savvy. He's clearly a reactive manager rather than proactive. He rarely, if ever, changes formation, making like for like substitutions. I think it would benefit him by getting a tactically astute assistant alongside him, other than the ineffective Woodgate, who clearly isn't up to the job. We are too predictable and slow with our play and opposition teams have very clearly worked us out and also know we have no pace or height up front.

Stu: Carrick is relatively new to management and is still learning. I would rather have a manager of Carrick's type than one who simply does the rounds, as we have had in the past. There is a lot more to come from Carrick and considering the player upheavals he has had to contend with, is one of the best new managers in the game.

Andy N: When we sold Latte Lath, we sold our only goalscorer. We didn't replace him and now we can't score any goals. I'm not sure where the mystery lies....

Luke: Carrick has to create a twinge of flexibility within the team. Usually however well we start, the opposition side is the one that improves at the end of the game. Never us.

Liam: Calm down everyone, we're still a top 30 team in England as we have been for the last 150 years more or less. Carrick is doing a decent job, we have a half-decent team but without Lath and Doak, we have no players who are above decent Championship level. When they were playing we were as good as anyone in the league. Once again Carrick doesn't get to have the same squad for a whole season and therefore has to adapt. Patience, endurance and belief. UTB.

Ian: He always plays the same style of football. Against teams who sit in we have no clue, no plan B. We are drifting along to miss out again. Too much sideways and backwards football for me. If we could shoot straight we could score a lot more. Carrick does not change things in games when it obviously isn't working. At times, the bench is better than what's on the pitch. So frustrating. We can pass teams off a pitch but can't win when we need to. He has brought us along to be a good side but I think he needs to go if we don't get in the play-offs.

Ben: Michael Carrick is one of our best managers in recent times. Financially, we're making profit on players who have developed under Carrick (Rogers, Akpom, Latte Lath), and the fundamentals in our style of play are some of the best in the country. While I appreciate we are an inconsistent side, which has been our downfall this season, there has still been glimpses of the quality we know the squad is capable of. Regardless of the outcome of this season, my confidence in Carrick's project remains the same, and I've got full confidence in him to deliver us the promotion we all desperately want.

Andy: Sadly, the Boro team are exhibiting the sanguine demeanour of its manager out on the pitch. Neil identified and exploited the soft underbelly and went for it. There's not much appetite for the fight amongst the players and their propensity to play conservative slow side-to-side football is costing us dear. Injuries have hobbled us no doubt, but the departure of Latte Lath hurt us badly and then the inexplicable decision to allow Clarke to leave when we were down to the bare bones in the centre-half department is unfathomable. I like Carrick but we actually seem to be going backwards under his management. I'd venture to say we have negligible if not no chance of getting to the play-offs and if we did by some miracle, the scope for embarrassment is definitely there.

Rob: We have to keep hold of MC. We've given him his first job in football and we should stand by him. UTB.

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After a disappointing loss to Millwall saw Middlesbrough unable to jump into the top six, some fans have begun to lose faith that they will see the Teesside club in the play-offs in May - and they've also begun to question the head coach.

Boro were the dominant force in the first half but the Lions took the second half by storm after some tactical adjustments from boss Alex Neil.

When talking after the game, former Middlesbrough midfielder Neil Maddison told the Red Alert podcast that he thinks the game was lost in Middlesbrough's inability to adapt their game style to the hosts' changes.

"We all understand the way Michael Carrick wants Boro to play but you've also got to mix that identity up," Maddison said.

"Two games have gone by and the same thing has happened in terms of that first-half quality in the final third and then getting worked out in the second half."

Is boss Carrick too predictable and, if so, is it costing the side a chance at promotion?

Let us know your thoughts here.

"The word damaging will appear a lot in regards to this game because that's a really damaging defeat.

"I've never really trusted this team and I think today is another example of many, throughout the whole season, that indicates that. Just very disappointing."

BBC Radio Tees' Paul Addison is joined by former Middlesbrough midfielder Neil Maddison and fan Dana Malt to discuss a loss for Michael Carrick's side against Alex Neil's Millwall - but who's to blame?

Neil's tactical changes turned the tide in the second half, whereas Boro's steadfast game style could not adapt to the chess moves from the home dugout at The Den.

Is the issue mediocre performances from the players or inflexibility from the manager?

Includes post-match reaction from Carrick.

Listen to the full episode and more on the Red Alert podcast.