The only thing certain in the Championship promotion race is that the teams qualifying for the play-offs are going about it the hard way. Except for Fulham, who are making a decent fist of hanging onto Cardiff City’s coat-tails.
Derby County were desperate to drop out of contention, only ending an eight-game winless run at Preston yesterday. Aston Villa lost a couple of games recently and Middlesbrough are throwing their lot in with the inconsistent as well.
Bristol City, Millwall, Sheffield United, and Preston are all being given shards of hope that they may still make the playoff lottery.
Middlesbrough skipper Grant Leadbitter refuses to be downcast after the Teesiders draw at Bolton Wanderers left them locked in a run of three games without a win, as per a report from The Bolton News.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to get something out of a game, but we have to perform better than we did, it’s as simple as that. We have to perform better, and we have to get wins across the line to keep us in the top six.”
He raised question marks about what is happening on the club’s Rockliffe Park Training Complex.
“It’s about doing the right things day by day. You have to get it right on the training pitch, day by day, because when you do that, nine times out of ten you get things right on the pitch during the game.”
With things not going right on the pitch, are ‘Boro getting it wrong on the training pitch or is it just the one time out of ten lined up in all three of the last games?
Leadbitter isn’t giving up and urged supporters to do the same.
“That’s really the message we have to stick with. We keep going. It’s a long season, we keep saying that, and we just have to keep going. It’s exciting. I’m sure it was tough for the fans to watch, but they’ll stick with us.”
The run-in sees Middlesbrough face a gruelling and decisive four-match spell: a trip to Sheffield United is followed by the visit of Bristol City to the Riverside, topped off by an away game at Derby and hosting Millwall, all in an 18-day spell.
If they are to reach the play-offs, ‘Boro will need to bottle Leadbetter’s spirit and hand it out to each member of the squad.