Ben Doak regularly found himself crowded out during Middlesbrough's defeat to Blackburn _(Image: Richard Sellers/PA)_
MICHAEL CARRICK has told Ben Doak he is going to have to get used to opposition teams doubling up on him – but has backed the teenager to come up with a solution to the problem.
While Doak was something of an unknown quantity when he joined [Boro](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/middlesbrough) on loan from Liverpool in the summer, that is no longer the case thanks to a string of impressive performances in the Championship and a pair of standout displays for Scotland in the recent international break.
Whereas teams facing Boro might previously have been willing to risk their left-back in a one-on-one situation with Doak, opposition managers are now instructing their left-sided midfielder to drop to provide additional protection to the player playing behind them.
In [Wednesday’s home defeat to Blackburn Rovers](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/24756248.middlesbrough-0-blackburn-1-dom-hyam-scores-winner-riverside/), Doak was regularly finding himself up against two opponents, and Carrick does not expect that to change for the foreseeable future.
“I think it’s just natural that teams are going to start doing that,” said the Boro boss. “When players are doing well and individuals are doing well, that’s just part of it, opposition teams looking to try to do something about that.
“I thought they (Blackburn) tried to double up at times, but then I also thought Oxford tried to do that as well. That’s the beauty of having a good mix and a good forward line really – they should be able to try to share the load. In the end (against Blackburn), we just couldn’t quite find the answer.”
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Carrick and his fellow coaches will be working with Doak to try to come up with plans to counter the extra attention he is receiving, but the Boro boss is also turning the spotlight on the rest of the team and urging them to exploit the extra space that might be afforded by an increased opposition focus on Doak.
Boro’s forwards have shared the goals between them so far this season, something Carrick is keen to see continue as his side look to get back on track at home to Hull City tomorrow lunchtime.
“We’ve been dealing with that (the extra attention on Doak) in the last few weeks,” he said. “It’s not really anything new, and one game certainly isn’t going to change the way we want to play or what we’re doing.
“On that side of things, nothing changes really. We’ve scored goals right throughout the forward line all season. We’ve shown we can score goals in different ways in the last few weeks. It doesn’t change.”