Hayden Hackney reveals what Michael Carrick has taught him at Middlesbrough | OneFootball

Middlesbrough emphatically dispatched Norwich City on Friday night, beating the Canaries 5-1 at the Riverside Stadium.

Boro were looking to put their disappointing Easter weekend behind them, as they only picked up one point over the two games.

Michael Carrick’s side got off to the perfect start, with Aaron Ramsey slotting home after seven minutes. Before Hayden Hackney and a double from Cameron Archer in a seven-minute period, any hope Norwich had of getting something from the game vanished.

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Chuba Akpom rounded off the scoring five minutes after halftime, a result that more or less guaranteed Middlesbrough’s play-off spot.

How is Hayden Hackney performing at Middlesbrough?

One of the goal scorers on Friday night was Hackney, a player that is flourishing under the management of Carrick.

The young midfielder was first given his chance by interim manager Leo Percovich, who took charge after Chris Wilder's dismissal.

The 20-year-old took his chance, and even with a change of manager, Hackney kept his place under Carrick and has become an ever-present in the Boro midfield.

Hackney has played 31 times this season in the league, grabbing two goals and registering four assists. The midfielder’s performances haven’t gone unnoticed, with Hackney being nominated for Championship’s Young Player of the Season award last week.

What Hayden Hackney has said about Michael Carrick

Now the midfielder has spoken of his appreciation at working under a manager like Carrick. He told Teesside Live: “It’s good [working with Carrick]. I really do appreciate that he’s giving me the opportunity. I’m just trying to take it game by game as much as possible.

"You always have hope at the start of a new season that the chance will come, and you’ll get an opportunity to prove yourself. Obviously, it did come, and I’m just grateful to get that.

"There wasn’t any chats with him when he first came in. I just remember that first game against Preston, which seems a long while ago now. I was playing, and I’ve just stayed in from there really. I’m really grateful for it. I’m just really enjoying my football at the minute.”

On developing under the stewardship of Carrick, Hackney added: “I watched him a lot - he was on the TV every week wasn’t he at Man Utd?! He was a great player, and I’m grateful to be learning from him.

"I think it’s more the little things - little movements, for example. He’s taught me, sometimes I don’t need to move that much to get into a bit of space.

"We’ve worked on my body position as well, so I’m set to play forward straight away. Getting on the half turn so that my second touch can be a pass forward instead of maybe taking two or three touches, when then maybe the opportunity to go forward has gone."

Hackney has managed to form a strong midfield relationship with experienced player Johnny Howson, and with the guidance of Carrick, who was a midfielder himself, Hackney has all the foundations to become a top-level midfielder, and he will be hoping by the end of this season he is a Premier League footballer with Boro.