Middlesbrough's Michael Carrick starts entertainment drive at ground where goals are hardest to come by

The former Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and England midfielder takes charge of Boro for the first time at a ground where goals have been notoriously hard to come by this season.

Eight Championship games at Deepdale this season have seen just eight goals – and only two for the Lilywhites.

But unsurprisingly given the clubs he played for as a cultured midfielder, Carrick wants his Boro team to combine good football and excitement.

"It's difficult to always explain (my ideas) in one conversation, I think it comes over in the days and the information we constantly give to the players in the ways we talk and the points we keep repeating about being positive," he said of how he wants his team to look.

"I like playing football with the ball at our feet, having the ball and controlling the game but at the same point not over-playing.

"We want excitement, we want to be creating chances, we want to be scoring goals but everyone wants the same.

"I want the boys to be positive. We've got really good players and I want them to be the best we can be."

Like most new managers, Carrick has been conscious of not overloading his players with information in his first week at Rockliffe, or trying to reinvent the wheel after Chris Wilder ingrained some clear principles in his time as manager.

"I've got to use commonsense and the boys are used to playing a certain way," he said. "I've got my own beliefs and principles which aren't necessarily right or wrong but we can't flip the whole thing overnight. But we can certainly head in the direction we want to.

"You're constantly juggling how much information to give, how much not to give, and certainly not over-complicate the first week.

"I'm conscious of how it is when a new manager comes in and players are looking for new ideas, different ideas.

"You want good players to express themselves and do what they do best. I've had good feedback and I'm looking forward to the game."

One of Carrick's immediate tasks is to inject confidence into a squad which was expected to be challenging for the title this season but is instead only out of the relegation zone on goal difference – hence the opportunity for him to start his management career on Teesside.

"You go through spells as a footballer when you know you're in good form and sometimes it becomes more difficult and you lose a bit of confidence but it's just about being positive and looking forward to creating chances and at the same time enjoying the art of defending,” he commented. "A lot of (our work) has been what we can do, what direction we want to go in and trying to give the boys some simple principles of what I believe in.”

Matt Crooks is back after a ban.