Boro came unstuck on several occasions in the second half of the season against sides that set out to frustrate, particularly at the Riverside.
In February, Kim Hellberg's side dropped points at home to Oxford and Leicester, who both went on to suffer relegation from the Championship, and Boro then lost at home to Charlton and could only manage a draw against Bristol City when they finally forced a second half breakthrough only to concede an equaliser deep in stoppage time.
Boro could then only draw at Blackburn, when Rovers followed the lead of those who'd successfully contained Boro, even though they were at home, and Hellberg's side suffered another painful home defeat when they went down 1-0 at home to Portsmouth,
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Those slip-ups were damaging, with Boro finishing four points shy of the automatic promotion places and having to settle for a play-off campaign, which ended with a 1-0 defeat to Hull City at Wembley after Southampton had been kicked out.
In parts under Hellberg, Boro were unplayable. They thumped Hull away in December, were immense in their victory at Sheffield United and deserved three points at Ipswich when they only got one. They also could have been out of sight in the first half of the play-off semi-final first leg against Southampton.
So Boro look to be well placed to bounce back from their play-off heartbreak.
But Hansen - a bit-part figure under Hellberg who says he wants to play more football next season - says Boro know where they need to improve.
"Yes I believe we can come back stronger," said the winger, who will be representing Curacao at this summer's World Cup.
"The only thing I've seen this season is they [teams] have learnt a little bit how we play and you see when some teams fall back and we have to create something it's difficult for us to win those games. If we win those games next season then yes."
Saturday's play-off final was very much the story of many Boro games in the second half of the season, with Hellberg's side dominating possession but failing to turn it into goals.
Hansen said: "That's the thing, we create a lot of chances against Southampton.
"When they fall back, we create a lot of chances but don't take them it's hard. We feel like we dominate every game but don't get a result and that's really hard."
Despite his frustration at not playing more football - Hansen made only two starts since Hellberg's arrival - the winger likes the head coach's style of play.
He said: "He's a really good coach. I like how he plays. I'm from Ajax so I like that style of football.
"I hope next season I can play, I think he's really good."