Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney will be in opposition dug-outs again this afternoon _(Image: Andrew Varley)_
WHAT do Michael Carrick and Wayne Ronney have in common? Clearly, they’re both former Manchester United and England stars who won everything there is to win during their time together at Old Trafford.
They’re also managers in the Championship, and this afternoon, they will be sharing a touchline at Home Park as Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle host Carrick’s Manchester United.
That’s not the only touchline they’ve been sharing recently, though. Carrick’s son, Jacey, plays with Rooney’s son, Kai, in Manchester United’s Under-15s team, and when their diaries allow, the two fathers meet up to watch their children in action. No pressure then, for the players on the field.
“They’ve (Jacey and Kai) had it since they were six,” laughed Carrick. “So, it’s just too old men standing on the sideline, it’s normal.”
It will be rather more competitive between the two fathers this afternoon, with Carrick’s [Boro](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/middlesbrough) side hoping to cement their place in the play-off positions ahead of the Christmas break while Rooney’s Plymouth team scrap for their lives in the relegation zone at the opposite end of the table.
“It’ll be nice to see him,” said Carrick. “But I see him quite a bit actually and speak to him. Last season, with it being the first time (they had managed against each other), it probably took a little bit of getting used to, standing on the sideline together, but we’ve kind of moved on from that novelty stage.
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“We are both there to do a job and we know that it’s a tough place to go. There’s massive respect, we’ve come through a lot together and are friends, but it is what it is.”
Rooney’s position as Plymouth boss is coming under considerable pressure with his side sitting just one place above the foot of the table, but Carrick claims Argyle’s home form – they have lost just two of their nine home league games this season – nevertheless makes them dangerous opponents.
“They are a real tough team to crack at home, and that’s what’s on our minds going down there,” he said. “I watched them against Sheffield United and thought that they were particularly good and very unlucky not to get something from the game.”
_Middlesbrough (probable, 4-2-3-1): Brynn; Dijksteel, van den Berg, Edmundson, Borges; Howson, Hackney; Doak, Azaz, Burgzorg; Latte Lath._