Middlesbrough will visit Championship title rivals Coventry City on Monday night.
Middlesbrough have been showered with praise and admiration after boosting their bid for promotion into the Premier League with a win at Sheffield United - and head coach Kim Hellberg has admitted he is enjoying it.
Goals from Tommy Conway and Riley McGree helped Boro to a 2-1 win at Bramall Lane earlier this week and that was enough to stretch their lead at the top of the Championship to two points ahead of Monday night’s potentially pivotal visit to second placed Coventry City. The win against the Blades also ensured Hellberg’s side preserved their place at the top of the second tier form table and they have now collected maximum points in each of their last six league games.
However, it is not just results that have drawn praise from pundits and supporters around the country, it is the high-energy, relentless and intense style of play Hellberg has instilled in his players that has captured the attention of many onlookers. With a crucial clash with Coventry just days away, the Boro boss moved quickly to shift any praise on to his players and insisted there is more to come over the remainder of the season.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Boro boss said: “I notice there is a lot of interest in Middlesbrough and a lot of credit to the players, which is very deserved from how they worked and how they played. I think it’s just fun, I think the players deserved it from how they performance and how they played. I think some of the games we have played have been unbelievable and they get a lot of the credit they deserve from that performance because it was a Monday night, a big game against a team that won six and one draw in their last seven and they’re scoring goals for fun. We did that type of performance, there’s been a lot of good performances over time but it was a Monday where there not so many games on so there was more interest in that type of game. It’s just fun and for us, it’s just to keep doing the same thing, to keep improving and keep using the games to improve and that’s what we have done.”
Unbelievable
The Middlesbrough players.placeholder image
The Middlesbrough players. | Getty Images
Hellberg’s impact on Middlesbrough in the aftermath of his appointment in November is clear to see after the former Hammarby boss led his new side to ten wins in 14 league games over the last four months. However, it is his ability to change Boro’s style of play during the season that has surprised even the man himself.
“It is always difficult because there are different layers in football and you can do it a different way,” he explained. “There’s no right or wrong in how you play, you create the right or wrong in the way you decide to play. That’s the thing and that’s what we are trying to work with. I am very pleased with how we have, in the middle of the season, come in as new coaches is difficult and we have changed the way we play. I am not saying right or wrong, I am just saying to change we have done is impressive, to watch the players do that is unbelievable.”
Hellberg will take a late check on the fitness of January signing Leo Castledine as the former Chelsea youngster closes in on a return from injury.
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