Coventry City news from CoventryLive as we take a look at what Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg said after knocking the Sky Blues off top spot in the Championship
10:17, 10 Feb 2026Updated 10:25, 10 Feb 2026
Kim Hellberg, head coach of Middlesbrough, celebrates
Kim Hellberg, head coach of Middlesbrough, celebrates victory at Bramall Lane(Image: Getty Images)
Kim Hellberg called it a ‘big night’ for Middlesbrough in the race for promotion to the Premier League, as they knocked Coventry City off top spot in the Championship with a 2-1 victory at Sheffield United.
The Sky Blues had been leaders for a total of 127 days, stretching back to early October when they thumped Sheffield Wednesday 5-0 at Hillsborough to leapfrog Boro who had previously led the division.
And after Frank Lampard’s men travelled to the Riverside towards the end of November and put the Teessiders to the sword with a brilliant 4-2 away win – coincidentally, the day new boss Hellberg was introduced to the Boro fans as Adi Viveash oversaw his last game as caretaker – City had built up a ten point lead at the summit.
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“It’s a big night,” said Hellberg, reflecting on Monday's victory over the Blades, courtesy of Tommy Conway and Riley McGree’s first-half goals, which proved enough for a sixth consecutive league win.
“It was a very tough opponent, away from home, so to get those types of results is great. It’s six wins a row, with three away games that have been won in different ways, and I think that’s really impressive from the group.
“I think the whole game was a brilliant game of football. It was two teams that were going at each other, two teams who tried to be offensive and take the ball off the other team. It was everything that I love with football in terms of that type of game.
“After the first ten minutes, I think our players were brilliant in terms of the balance of taking the ball forward when they had the opportunity. They were excellent at finding combinations, going behind them and creating a lot of chances.
“We could maybe have scored even more. I will watch it again on the bus home! Especially in the first half, against such a good team, who had won five home games in a row, scoring 15 goals in those games.
“It was a brilliant performance. To do that here, against such a good team, was really impressive from the players.”
Boro visit the CBS Arena in another mouth-watering second-tier clash on Monday.
And while Hellberg and his players will make sure to enjoy a statement victory in South Yorkshire, ultimately, the focus will quickly be on areas for improvement, as Hellberg delivered a promotion-race message.
“The important thing is to try to get better already tomorrow," he said, speaking to TeesideLive. I will let them rest on the bus back, but tomorrow we will try to get better! That’s the key thing.
“We talk about that all the time. It doesn’t matter if we win, lose, or draw, that’s the aim. Because you always have to try to do everything you can to get better, and that’s what is good with this group. They all want to get better.
“We’ve talked about that after the game already. It doesn’t matter where we are now. They don’t give out any promotions now. It’s just about getting better every day.
“We have 15 games left, we have a lot of points left to win. Of course we’re in a good spot, and I’m happy about that. But we will need to get better, we will need to train better, and we will need to keep going.
“For us, it will still be the same thing tomorrow though – try to get better, learn from it. That’s what it’s all about. There’s still 15 games left so we have to go again.”
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