JONNY Howson was learning from Michael Carrick long before his head coach's arrival at the Riverside, for the Middlesbrough captain had a lightbulb moment when he came up against his now boss as a player.

Howson played against Carrick for his home club Leeds United and for Norwich City and seeing the Manchester United and England midfielder up close resulted in a crucial moment of realisation for the now Boro skipper - the importance of doing the simple things well.

"Let's be honest, he played for Manchester United for numerous years, so even before I played against him I knew he'd be a top player," said Howson, recalling his experience of coming up against his boss on the pitch.

"But when I did play against him, he was one of those players who you realised, you learn from these players, that the simple things seem easy. Once I'd played against him, I came off and realised how good he was. He's been there, won more or less everything certainly at club level. When I played against him I learnt that if you do the simple thing well it's surprising how effective that can be."

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Having enjoyed such a glittering playing career, the early signs at Middlesbrough suggest Carrick can also be hugely successful in the dugout. Howson has been extremely impressed by the impact of his head coach and says there's one quality in particular that will have been crucial to Carrick's success as a player and that he's carried into management - never settling for what's been achieved and always striving for more.

Howson said: "It's no surprise the things that he's putting across to us, the standards he's setting and why he had such a terrific career.

"He's very calm, very encouraging. When a new manager comes in halfway through the season sometimes it's hard to get the full message across. But he's given the lads confidence.

"We've had a few good results, but one thing I've learnt or that he does reiterate is that yeah, we've done well, but that's nothing. Never settle for what you've got, you should always be pushing yourself and striving to improve. That can go a long way.

"Sometimes it's human nature that you do get comfortable but the times you do start doing that you're not improving or progressing to the next level or stage. That's probably why he played at the highest level for all of his career."