Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick says that he is not "hiding" from his side's poor run of form.
Defeat at Sheffield United means they have won only three of their last 11 league games, picking up 13 points from a possible 33.
It means they have fallen from fifth to ninth and now sit three points outside the play-offs.
"It's never pleasant when you're not getting the results you want, but I'm not hiding from that," Carrick told BBC Radio Tees.
"But it makes you want it even more and drives you on to find the answers.