VIKTOR Gyokeres has given many a Championship defender sleepless nights this season.

But as Middlesbrough prepare for Coventry's star striker on Monday - and very possibly again in the play-offs - Michael Carrick is confident his defenders can shackle the Sweden international.

Why? Well it's not that Carrick is turning a blind eye to the threat posed by the 24-year-old. Boro's head coach is well aware of the quality Gyokeres possesses. His class at this level is impossible to ignore, with 21 Championship goals to his name this season.

Only one player has scored more - Boro's Chuba Akpom. And that is why Carrick is backing his defenders on Monday afternoon.

"They train against Chuba every day, so they get a good test every day," said Carrick.

And that, he believes, equips his backline for any and every Championship test.

"That's a massive part and the intensity of training and pushing each other all the time. It 100% benefits you.

"He (Gyokeres) is a very good player and we have to be fully aware of what he's capable of, he's shown that all season long, we definitely know what we're going up against."

Gyokeres had been a fitness doubt for Coventry but looks set to start on Monday as Mark Robins' side look for the point that would guarantee a place in the play-offs.

Boro, on the other hand, have fourth place wrapped up and are looking for a positive result to send them into the play-offs on a high.

What helped the Manchester United teams that Carrick was part of achieve and then maintain success was the intensity on the training pitch, something Boro's head coach has carried with him into management.

He says: "I'm a big believer in that, probably because I know we got our rewards from that (at Man United).

"That comes down to again, what I keep talking about, the quality of the squad. You can't have that intensity of training if you have a starting XI and then the rest, it's about the whole group and everyone bringing something to the table every day.

"In the end everyone benefits. We've definitely seen that in training and we've seen that with the way players have come into the team from a period out of the team and the way they've played and settled in.

"I'm a big believer you need to have a level of intensity and competitiveness and keep the edge and push each other as much as you can."

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Training well, says Carrick, can also help in building what every team craves at this stage of the season - momentum.

"Confidence is not necessarily a results thing," he says.

"From a players' point of view you have a feeling of how well you're playing and if you have a foundation from your performance you always have a feeling you're capable of winning another game or playing well.

"It's how you play, a lot of that is dictated by confidence. Sometimes a win gives you a spike and a boost, of course, but ultimately there's a standard and a level you need to hit in yourself to know you're close, you're playing alright, to keep that belief. We've definitely got that, the boys haven't flinched which is a good sign."