THERE was no Rockliffe over-reaction to Middlesbrough's defeat at Huddersfield, with Michael Carrick saying it's been a "normal week" on the training ground in preparation for the visit of leaders Burnley.

For all Carrick was obviously disappointed with the 4-2 defeat at the John Smith's Stadium, the head coach hit back at suggestions that it might act as a wake-up call.

He said: "We don't need a wake-up call, the boys have been fantastic, their attitude and the way they've gone about it. We won't look back, we haven't since I've been here and we're not going to start now.

"It's been a normal week. One result doesn't flip how we go about our work. We've built up a way of playing over a period of time now and that didn't change when we've had some good results and it won't change because we've had a 15, 20 minute spell when it doesn't go to plan.

"We're looking forward to the next group of games, certainly the next game. It's a good challenge and the boys are looking forward to it.

"We weren't particularly poor last week, we just had a spell where from four shots four went in, you have to take that.

"It just shows how well we've played over a period of time that there hasn't been many cases of them moments. It happens. You can't always have a reason or blame the players. We'll learn from it and move forward.

"It's no big deal, it's just a game of football and we'll move on."

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Boro have the chance to respond to the Huddersfield defeat in perfect fashion against Premier League-bound Burnley in Friday night's televised game at the Riverside. The Clarets can win promotion at the Riverside if Luton lose at Millwall in the early kick-off.

Carrick said: "It's only about us. I can't control what they're doing, they're a really good team with a really good manager and we'll expect the best version of them.

"They're top of the league for a reason. It's a game for us to enjoy and play as well as we can do. We have gained a lot of confidence and belief over the last few months. We look forward to this game."

Boro have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the game.

"We’re looking OK," said Carrick.

"At this part of the season everyone has niggles. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I was 100% for the game. That’s natural, every player will be similar. But we’re in good shape."