LEO PERCOVICH insists that togetherness is the key to turning round Middlesbrough’s season as the club prepare to welcome Michael Carrick.

Boro are set to announce Carrick as their new manager, and gave him the perfect welcome present as a 4-1 win at Wigan lifted them out of the Championship relegation zone.

The popular Percovich saluted the 1,300-strong travelling support at full-time – and they responded by singing his name – as the fourth match of his spell as caretaker manager brought their biggest win of the season.

Percovich said: “What I take from this experience is that we can do it. We can do it but the key is togetherness.

“If you are not together, if you are not committed, you can’t go anywhere.

“But when you are together, and the people and the players and the supporters are committed, then you can do it, for sure.

“We will see what happens in the next few hours and days, but we need to be focused on the game for Saturday. The players need to recover because in 36 hours they play again.”

A first senior goal for academy graduate Hayden Hackney was the highlight of an emphatic victory, one which gave Percovich belief that Boro can put a difficult spell behind them.

“I think when you hit the bottom, then you just go high again,” continued the Uruguayan, who has been a popular figure ever since he moved to Middlesbrough as part of Aitor Karanka’s backroom team.

“Here, nobody walks back, we always move forward, but we’ve walked back a little in the past few games.

“And this is why we are so proud, because they stick with the ideas that we have and they believe.

“It’s a pleasure to see the smiles on the players’ faces, and the fans so happy, because when you are asking questions, and this is the big answer that they give to you, it makes you feel proud to be a part of the team.”

For Redcar-born midfielder Hackney, a Boro academy graduate, a first senior goal represented a sweet moment.

“We went a goal down but we just kept on believing,” Hackney said.

“I can’t describe the feeling when I scored. I’ve been waiting for it my whole life. I’ve definitely been dreaming of that moment.”