Michael Carrick sees the bigger picture after Boro are held at home by Preston

Michael Carrick is confident Middlesbrough will develop into a more potent force in the Sky Bet Championship after watching Preston leave the Riverside with a point.

The Boro head coach had to settle for a 1-1 draw after watching the Lilywhites claw level after Tommy Conway’s low finish in the 16th minute had put the home side ahead with his second goal for the club since moving from Bristol City last month.

Preston’s Danish midfielder Mads Frokjaer-Jensen side-footed a sweet volley beyond Boro goalkeeper Seny Dieng to level things up with two minutes of the first half remaining.

It meant Middlesbrough had been held at the Riverside for the second Championship game in a row, following the 2-2 draw with Portsmouth in August.

Carrick, whose side drop to 10th, said: “I’m frustrated, we should have won the game. We were in good positions to win the game, we created enough to score more.

“We didn’t give a lot away, there were a lot of good things that I think we will benefit from over time. But we want to kill teams off when we get them, push when we are 1-0 up.

“Preston got the goal and it was a different game because they had something to hold on to.

“It’s still early. There is a settling in period and I will take the positives. If we keep doing the right things we will be fine.

“Every game we have played we have been the more dominant team in terms of chances created. We try to build the performance and put blocks in place to enable us to win.”

He continued: “Tommy’s goal was a lovely finish, we have been trying to get him in these positions. I always felt he would score because he had that composure about him.

“We believe we have to keep pushing and trying the right things. We are not getting the full benefits yet but I believe we will. Things will settle down now over the next six-to-eight weeks.”

Preston’s point means they remain just above the bottom four and new boss Paul Heckingbottom, who has lost only one of his first three league games in charge, declared himself “pleased with a point”.

He said: “Boro shaded it in terms of efforts on goal but I was frustrated in the first half because we had good moments in possession but lacked penetrations. Boro’s best moments came from our mistakes.

“It was a really poor goal for us to lose. The way we fought back, and defended second half, we are pleased with.

“The response from us to score was good and I was happy to go in 1-1 after the first half performance.

“The second half, when Boro pressed, around our box, I think our defenders, midfielders and Freddie Woodman I’d include in that, we defended well.

“We were still being brave and aggressive, even though we knew we would leave space. That’s the way we want to play. I wouldn’t have been happy to sit back and defend for the point.

“I expect us to compete against Boro, I enjoy watching them create opportunities, and we limited them.”