Championship promotion rivals consider shock manager decision with Leeds United visit still to come

Leeds United could face a brand new manager in April as pressure reportedly mounts on Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick.

Middlesbrough were tipped to join the likes of Leeds, Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland in fighting for automatic promotion but a dismal run could see them miss out on the play-offs. Carrick has overseen a run of just three wins in 15, with Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Watford their fifth in six games.

The full-time whistle on Saturday was met with a huge chorus of boos inside the Riverside Stadium, with Boro now 11th and four points away from West Brom in sixth. And talkSPORT now reports that Carrick is ‘under pressure’ as club chiefs weigh up a possible change.

The report claims former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper would be considered as a serious contender to succeed Carrick, should Boro owner Steve Gibson wield the axe on his current head coach. But Cooper is not thought to be keen on returning to management just three months after leaving Leicester City.

It remains to be seen whether Boro chiefs will take action but the growing pressure on Carrick is a surprise, given how promising their campaign had been looking. The former Manchester United midfielder was hardly helped by a disappointing January in which his side sold top-scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath for a club-record £22.5million, replacing him with on-loan Sevilla frontman Kelechi Iheanacho.

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Middlesbrough face in-form Bristol City on Friday evening before a more favourable run of fixtures against lower-half opposition. It remains to be seen whether Carrick will still be in charge when Leeds go to the Riverside on April 8.

The 43-year-old oversaw an excellent early-season performance at Elland Road in August, blowing Leeds away with a 3-0 first-round victory. But the Whites were at full strength and much improved for their December arrival in West Yorkshire, winning 3-1 with goals from Will Gnonto, Dan James and Brenden Aaronson.

Carrick is under increasing scrutiny as the margin for error decreases with every point dropped in the highly competitive Championship play-off race. The Teesside club are one of nine with a realistic chance of fighting for two places, with two of the current top-four virtually guaranteed a top-six spot.

"There's no sugar-coating it, we're in a tough spot at the moment,” Carrick said following Saturday’s defeat against Watford. “You could smell it and feel it around today, and (we need to) face up to the reality that results haven't gone as we would like of late.

“Listen, I understand the game and how it works. I’ve been in it a long time. It is what it is. If you win enough games you have success, and if you don’t, you’re criticised and ultimately, in the end, things happen.

“But I feel the support and have done since I walked through the door. I still feel it now but it’s up to us to win enough games to see what happens in the future. There’s no getting away from it.”