MICHAEL CARRICK is hoping to include fellow Geordie Adam Sadler as part of his coaching team at Middlesbrough.

Carrick is set to be confirmed as Boro’s new head coach in the next couple of days, despite having not been at the Riverside on Saturday as the Teessiders were held to a goalless draw by the Championship’s bottom club, Huddersfield Town.

Leo Percovich admitted after the game that he was awaiting guidance about what happens next, and while the Uruguayan has mapped out a training schedule for the rest of this week, he is not expected to remain in charge for Saturday’s game at Preston.

Carrick’s appointment should have been rubber-stamped by the time Boro head to Deepdale, although the ongoing delay in confirming the former England international’s move to Teesside has largely been the result of issues over the assembly of his backroom staff.

Working alongside Carrick, the Boro hierarchy have considered a number of different options, with Sadler having emerged as a leading contender to be part of the new team.

The North Shields-born 42-year-old is currently employed as part of Brendan Rodgers’ backroom team at Leicester, having begun his coaching career with Newcastle United at the age of just 21.

He was reserve-team boss with the Magpies, before following Glenn Roeder to Norwich City, a spell that preceded a period as first-team coach at Plymouth Argyle, working under Peter Reid.

Sadler has also led Manchester City’s Under-18s, coached at Ukrainian club Tavriya Simferopol and currently combines his duties with Leicester with an international coaching role as part of the backroom set-up with Northern Ireland.

Carrick is keen to surround himself with some experienced coaching figures as he prepares to take on his first role as a head coach in his own right.

He was a senior member of the coaching staff at Manchester United under both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and was caretaker boss of the club for three matches following Solskjaer’s departure last November.