MICHAEL CARRICK is hoping Middlesbrough’s improved form in the last week will spark a sustained improvement to the end of the season.

Having beaten Norwich City at the Riverside on Wednesday night, the Teessiders made it two wins in two games as they claimed a 2-0 victory at QPR yesterday.

The double success has successfully lifted the pressure that was beginning to mount after a difficult post-Christmas spell, and also thrust Boro back into the play-off mix.

Carrick’s side are currently eight points adrift of the top six, but the gap will close to five if they can win their game in hand at Birmingham City on Tuesday night, and the Boro boss is hoping his side are rediscovering their best form at the ideal time.

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“We know what this league brings, and if you can put a cluster of results together, it can make a big, big difference,” said Carrick, whose side triumphed at Loftus Road thanks to second-half goals from Emmanuel Latte Lath and Marcus Forss. “We felt it going the other way recently and if you don’t get them, then the league can leapfrog you and it quickly changes.

“Hopefully, we are coming into a bit of form after two good results. There’s definitely more in terms of performance, but results-wise, it’s been a really good week.

“Listen, we’re not getting carried away with those two results. There is still a bit to go yet, but all we can try and do is win games and be positive.

“The boys will look forward to another big game on Tuesday night - another challenge going to Birmingham and they have to be right at it for that one. We won’t look any further than that.”

Nevertheless, Carrick is justifiably proud of his players for the way in which they have successfully turned around a run of form that was beginning to become increasingly alarming.

A first clean sheet of the calendar year was another notable feature to emerge from yesterday’s game, providing further proof of the spirit and togetherness that remains intact.

“I keep saying about the spirit of the boys,” added Carrick. “It’s easy to say that when you’re winning. But when you have a bit of a tough spell, and we’ve had a couple this season, you do see people’s characters and their real personalities.

“The boys have been incredible with that in terms of sticking together and finding their way through it. It’s two big results for us, there is no getting away from it. The timing of the results has been good. We’d have liked to have them sooner, but now we have two games before the break, and we need to make the most of them.”