MICHAEL Carrick has mounted a staunch defence of Zack Steffen and stressed the goalkeeper's importance to the way he wants his Middlesbrough side to play.

Steffen has come in for a bit of criticism in recent weeks because of his distribution and persistence in playing the ball out from the back even when Boro are under pressure - but that's the way his head coach wants him to play.

Steffen's distribution is key, says Carrick, to creating space for others, launching attacks and exploiting certain areas of the pitch.

So even if there is a bit of anxiety in the stands at times, Carrick will be telling Steffen to stick to the plan and keep doing what he has been doing.

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Asked about Steffen being under scrutiny, Carrick said: "I don't know why, not from me.

"It's not about individuals, it's about the team and how we want to play. We want to play through the pitch, we want to have possession of the ball, course we do.

"And yeah, Steffen is a big part of that. He starts our attacks and tries to create space for others. I have no problem with Zack, certainly over recent weeks. It's about making it easier and creating space for each other and understanding where the space is for us to build through the pitch.

"Whether we're under pressure or certain people feel we're under pressure, we don't see it that way, that's just spaces we want to attack and want to use."

Boro's last win at the Riverside was a hard-fought victory over Millwall, who pushed for a leveller late in the game. Even under pressure, though, Boro stuck to their plan. And while Carrick understands tension in the stands, he says on the pitch Boro will remain "cold", calm and in complete control.

"There are times when there's a bit of tension, nerves, but there should be, it's the emotion of football," said the head coach.

"For us, heavily involved and players on the pitch, you have to be colder than that and believe in what we're doing. That's the challenge. When it does get a bit tetchy and nervy, you don't get involved.

"We believe in what we're doing. Just because there might be a period where it doesn't work for five minutes, you can't then go and change the whole thing and play a different way because then you're not the team you want to be. We'll play in the way we believe in and we'll keep playing that way."

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Boro will climb above Watford with a win today, with Carrick hoping to send the home fans away smiling after last week's derby disappointment at Sunderland.

He said: "The support we've had every single week is magnificent, even last week the support was fantastic. We went over and showed our appreciation even though it didn't work out for us.

"It's easy to talk about it when you're winning games, the incredible support, but it's actually when you might have a defeat or have a performance that doesn't go as well, that's when the connection and bond has to be strong.

"We certainly felt that last week. Frustrated and disappointed yeah, but we'll now try and give the supporters something to smile about."