Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough FC: Teessiders looking inwards and ignoring hosts' issues
Middlesbrough coach Michael Carrick will not be expecting any help from off-field turbulence when he takes his team to Blackburn Rovers on Friday.
Rovers' Championship play-off push has floundered since John Eustace jumped ship to now-resurgent Derby County to be replaced by former Barnsley coach Valerien Ismael.
A draw in Ismael's first game, then four straight defeats have revived latent anger with the club’s owners and dropped Blackburn into 11th in the table at the same time as four wins out of six have put Boro into the play-off picture.
Victory on Friday would move them fifth ahead of their rivals' games on Saturday.
But Carrick refuses to entertain the idea now is “certainly not a good time to play them.”
"There's no way we're looking at things outside of this building for a helping hand,” he insisted.
"We need to have all eyes on ourselves and concentrate on what we can do to perform. What other things are going on in around other clubs is not for us to worry about or think about.
"The game will take care of itself and we have to be at our best to deal with that."
It definitely is a good time for Boro, though, who pick from the squad which beat Oxford United.
"The boys are in a really good place, you can feel it," said Carrick. “They're confident but grounded and ready for the big challenges coming up.
"We're not getting carried away.
"When you're on a good wave or a good bit of form it's important you try and keep that going. You've got to keep pushing.
"The boys are largely playing pretty well at the time of the year when you need to hit your stride. That's the big challenge ahead."