Leeds United's Championship promotion rivals make final decision on manager amid growing pressure and fan boos

Michael Carrick is expected to be in the dugout when Leeds United head to the Riverside Stadium in April, with Middlesbrough set to back their under-fire manager.

Pressure has intensified around Carrick following a dismal run of four consecutive defeats, with Saturday’s 1-0 loss at home to Watford enough for fans to turn on the team. The full-time whistle was met with a loud chorus of boos on Teesside, with Middlesbrough dropping into 11th-place, four points away from the play-offs.

The bigger picture shows Carrick has won just three of his last 15 games in charge of Boro, with talkSPORT reporting on Sunday he is under growing pressure, with former Leicester City and Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper a possible candidate to take over at the Riverside. But those in charge at Middlesbrough now look set to take a different approach.

The Northern Echo reports Carrick will not lose his job in the wake of Saturday’s defeat, with those above the 43-year-old opting to back him going into the promotion run-in. Chairman Steve Gibson is said to remain fully supportive of his under-pressure manager, who is still in with a great chance of qualifying for the play-offs.

Middlesbrough chiefs aren’t thought to have approached anyone over the possibility of succeeding Carrick, amid links to Cooper and recently-sacked former Luton Town boss Rob Edwards. It is understood to be business as usual as Carrick prepares his side to face in-form Bristol City on Friday evening.

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Earlier reports suggested Leeds could be facing the prospect of a Middlesbrough side under new management later this season, with Daniel Farke’s men due at the Riverside on April 8. There is plenty of football to be played between now and then but that trip was seen as a potential late stumbling block for the Whites, with a preferable run-in on paper after upcoming games against Sunderland, Sheffield United and West Brom.

It now appears as though Carrick will remain in charge for that important game, so long as Middlesbrough’s dismal form improves. The former Manchester United midfielder is acutely aware of the scrutiny on him currently.

"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.”