Cuti Romero was injured in Roberto’s first game in charge at Sunderland on 12 April with Micky taking over the armband at the Stadium of Light and then leading the side for the rest of the season.
We collected 11 points from a possible 18 in the final six matches with key wins at Wolves, Villa and at home against Everton on a gripping final day, securing 17th place.
Micky reflected: “We’ve been through a rollercoaster and since Roberto came in, I think a new positive flow came into the group and we played some better football and we got the points.
“The gaffer has been unbelievable, I'm not going to lie, since he stepped in. I spoke a lot with him as well because he also saw that I was not in the best mood, even at the training ground.
“So, he spoke a lot to me and he said to me, ‘you're going to be a really important player for me these last couple of games and I'm going to rely on you. You need to trust me and trust me, I trust you’.
“He said, ‘I've seen you play even when I was at Brighton, when I was at Marseille, you're a top player and I'm going to need you these last couple of games, so let's push together’.
“I think he did it with multiple players who had a lot of conversations with him and he gave us so much confidence. I think that's really important, especially when you're in the difficult situation we were in. Luckily, we came through it and I'm really proud of the boys.”