Portsmouth v Middlesbrough: Tunnel vision key for Michael Carrick amid transfer talk and injuries
Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick rarely looks too far into the future - and it is perhaps for the best in current circumstances.
Drowning out noise in January can prove difficult, as transfers dominate conversations and uncertainty lingers like a bad smell.
As he was in the dying embers of the summer window, Emmanuel Latte Lath is currently at the centre of transfer talk at the Riverside.
Reports have indicated there has been an offer from big-spending MLS outfit Atlanta United, with talks said to have been held.
Good form is a double-edged sword and this has further been exemplified by talk of interest in on-loan Liverpool winger Ben Doak.
Carrick regularly emphasises the importance of taking it one game at a time and with outside noise at a high, it is arguably all he can do.
Having a linear focus was made earlier last week, when Blackburn Rovers dumped Boro out of the FA Cup in the third round.
"The dynamics of the season certainly change as you go through and knock the chapters off,” he said. “We find ourselves now, with a clear focus on the league.
"In many ways, it simplifies things, all eyes on one thing. Taking it game-by-game for sure, understanding what that brings and what's at stake.
"You've got to use that feeling, you've got to use that emotion, you've got to use that enjoyment and excitement really to fire things up. It's all ahead of us, we'll attack it with everything we've got.”
There has been mixed news on the injury front in the build-up to the trip to Portsmouth. Seny Dieng, Luke Ayling and Aidan Morris are back in training but Darragh Lenihan and Tommy Smith have suffered setbacks and may not feature again this season.
Scotland-capped marksman Tommy Conway, meanwhile, is not fit for the Fratton Park clash but is nearing a comeback.
"For Tommy and Darragh it's been particularly difficult for them to be out for so long,” Carrick said. "We all hope everyone is fit and on the pitch and if players get injured it's just a small one.
"But some are bigger than others. We're obviously doing everything we can to support them."