Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg (Image: Martin Rickett)
Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg (Image: Martin Rickett)
"PEOPLE might laugh," said Kim Hellberg but that didn't deter Middlesbrough's head coach from making what he felt was a valid and important point.
Not once but twice last week, Hellberg referenced PSG in discussing his Middlesbrough side. He wasn't comparing in terms of quality. PSG are, after all, in Hellberg's mind, the world's best team. But in terms of the tactical approach of the two sides.
Hellberg sat down to watch the engrossing Champions League clash between PSG and Barcelona last week and was drawn to the home side's "massive spaces" in and behind the midfield.
It's been the same at Boro on occasions this season, which has left Hellberg's side vulnerable at times on the transition. But that is a risk he's willing to take in his quest to be a "brave" and "aggressive" side.
With something new or unfamiliar can come fear, and Hellberg understands why Boro's approach "can sometimes be scary".
But he won't allow himself to be swayed by the way football has been played in the past. Hellberg knows how he wants his team to look.
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"We are a strong team, we're a good football side, we are a brave football side, and I think we are, in many ways, a little bit different in terms of that," said Boro's boss, who would like his side to have kept more than two clean sheets this season but isn't overly concerned when goals are flowing at the other end. Only West Ham have scored more in the Championship.
"From that, we create a lot of opportunities," he continued.
"We know we create a lot of opportunities, and if you do that, you have a great chance of getting points, even if you concede the first goal.
"You want to keep a clean sheet every game, but that is not the case, and because of us being brave, things will happen, things will open up, and the space will look bigger than it does if you play everyone behind the ball all the time.
"For an eye that watches the games that are used to seeing low blocks or being close in spaces, I think they can see bigger space and be afraid of that. We are a little bit different to many other teams, both on and off the ball. I think we are very, very brave in that, and that's why I think we are the team that, through a lot of things, have developed a lot through the season, but also create so many chances.
"If you are into numbers, our numbers are very good, and we are up there with the best teams in the world in how they control and create chances, and still in a situation where some people don’t think we were that good. I think that's interesting.
"I watched PSG-Barcelona and it's the same thing. PSG, the best team in the world, their spaces are massive.
"I know a lot of people are used to the old classic cliches in midfield: you should always stay close to each other, the space should be very small, because then I can feel comfortable from the stands looking at space. But I don't think that's the best way of playing football.
"I think we've shown in terms of a lot of things that we are very brave and we are used to doing things a little bit differently, and that leads to us creating a lot of chances and conceding very few. But for the eye that is used to different things, it can sometimes be scary."
That was Hellberg speaking prior to Friday's emphatic win at Bolton, but after the game he again stressed a similar point.
"We want to be aggressive, and that's why I think sometimes we end up with our midfielders far apart," he said.
"We can sometimes end up with a lot of space behind, because we want to be a brave team, we want to press them high.
"When I watch PSG, I honestly believe we play in a very similar way to them. When I say that, people might laugh, because you know how it is. But, if you look at numbers, we are very similar to how they play in how much they create, how they control games, and how they play in the final third."