Having inherited a side that were sitting in second position when Rob Edwards opted to leave for Wolves, Hellberg has spent the vast majority of his time as Boro boss occupying an automatic-promotion place.
However, a six-game winless run has seen the Teessiders slip to fifth position ahead of this lunchtime’s game with promotion rivals Ipswich Town, plunging their automatic-promotion hopes into serious doubt.
Whatever happens over the course of the remaining four matches, the Teessiders will almost certainly have the safety net of a place in the play-off, but having spent so long in a top-two spot, there would still be an inevitable sense of disappointment if Boro were to miss out on automatic promotion.
Hellberg understands that, but insists his aim when he was appointed as head coach in November was always to oversee a successful promotion campaign at some stage of his Teesside tenure.
“I’ve always been confident that this is a group that, over time - and that's the first thing I said - is going to get to the Premier League,” said the Boro boss, ahead of today’s midday kick-off at Portman Road.
“I said I was here for three-and-a-half years when I signed and we’re going to get to the Premier League in that time. I'm 100 per cent certain.
“If it was this year, to be fair, I was a little bit surprised that we were better than I thought from the beginning when I arrived here. We played in a way that the players have done absolutely brilliantly.
“So, I'm very happy that we're still in the running for it this year, but otherwise I’m 100 per cent certain we're going to get there in some way over this period of time.”
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In terms of the current campaign, the clock is certainly ticking with Boro having picked up just three points from the last available 18.
They head into today’s game three points adrift of Ipswich, and with an inferior goal difference, so for all the talk of Hellberg’s style and preferred tactical approach, this definitely feels like a day when the final result is everything.
“Yeah, it is,” agreed Hellberg. “Development is the key thing all the time because that's how you get better and how you win. But when it comes down to end of the season, that becomes more about trying to get the result.
“It's been a long season and the training becomes a little bit different in terms of keeping players fit as much as possible. You play so many games but then you go on vacation for almost two months before you go again.
“It always changes a little bit in terms of that, but for me, we'll try to do everything we can to get the win. And if that will be in an ugly game for us and we still win it, I would be very, very happy.”
It can be argued that, as the home team, the pressure is more on Ipswich today. Like Boro, Kieran McKenna’s side have flirted with the top two for most of the season, and like the Teessiders, they are in somewhat patchy form, having won three, drawn three and lost one in their last seven games.
At this stage of the season though, and with so much at stake, Hellberg feels there is pressure on everyone.
“It’s always just about trying to win the next game,” he said. “It’s the same way, it doesn't change.
“It's just you trying to win the game whether you are first, second or third in the table. We’ll try to do the same against Ipswich, so not much changes in that way. And I think the pressure is on everyone that works in football all the time, every day.”