Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough manager Kim Hellberg was frustrated with his side's efforts in front of goal in the damaging 1-0 defeat to Charlton.

Boro had 34 shots on goal, but Will Mannion in the Charlton goal was largely untroubled until he saved well from Hayden Hackney late on.

Boro are now just one point ahead of Millwall in third place.

Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees: "It has been a theme where we have had a lot of opportunities and not won games. We have not been good enough in terms of scoring goals and we have two points from three home games.

"We scored seven goals in our last two games and could have scored seven today but we have to keep working and keep improving. It would be worse if we had only two chances all night.

"We need to win as many games as possible. We will try and win them all."

Image source, Opta

Middlesbrough will seek to keep the pressure on Championship leaders Coventry when they host Charlton on Wednesday night (19:45 GMT).

After the Sky Blues went eight-points clear courtesy of a 2-0 win at Bristol City on Saturday, Boro reduced the gap to five points with a 4-0 win at QPR on Sunday, their eighth win in 11 games, from which they have earned 26 points.

Charlton are 18th but overcame Birmingham by the only goal at The Valley on Saturday to move nine points clear of the relegation zone and have lost just one of their past five away games.

• Middlesbrough have lost just one of their past 13 league games against Charlton (W10 D2), winning the past three in a row.

• Charlton have won just one of their past 17 away league games against Middlesbrough (D6 L10), and are winless in six visits since a 3-0 win in August 2005.

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their past five home league games (W3 D2), conceding just one goal in that run.

• Charlton have won just one of their past 12 away league games (D5 L6), beating Leicester 2-0 at the end of January.

• Middlesbrough's Morgan Whittaker has scored in each of his past three league games against Charlton, though all of these have come away from home.

Head coach Kim Hellberg says Middlesbrough were "brilliant" in their 4-0 thumping of Queens Park Rangers.

Boro recorded a second away win in seven days to stay second and open up a four-point gap over Millwall in third.

Goals from David Strelec, Alan Browne, Hayden Hackney and a Tommy Conway penalty made it another excellent away day in west London, leaving Hellberg delighted.

"Very happy with everything," he told BBC Radio Tees.

"I think the performance overall was brilliant, the way we press, the way we play, combining some beautiful goals, some fighting goals, so it was a good, good performance."

Ipswich Town's draw on Saturday meant that victory over QPR allowed Boro to regain total control of their promotion destiny and Hellberg was impressed with how his players responded.

"We talked about being brave in that performance and finding the solutions that we work on," he added.

"We talk about performance - that is the key thing. Do the things we talk about, do the things we practice. That's what we can develop from the game every time."

With this game being played on Sunday (16:30 GMT), Middlesbrough could find themselves outside the Championship's automatic promotion places if Ipswich beat Leicester on Saturday.

QPR's only two wins in their past six league games have come against leaders Coventry and fifth-placed Hull City.

• QPR have lost their past four league games against Middlesbrough but have never lost five in a row against Boro.

• Middlesbrough have won on their past two league visits, having won just three of their first 26 visits beforehand between 1966 and 2022.

• Since Christmas, only Sheffield Wednesday (0), West Brom (1) and Leicester (2) have won fewer Championship matches than QPR (3), who have lost their past two by an aggregate score of 7-0.

• Middlesbrough have won nine away league games this season and are looking to reach double figures in a season for the ninth time – five of the previous eight have come this century (2011-12, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2023-24).

• Middlesbrough defender Matt Targett scored twice in the first half of their 3-1 win over Birmingham on Monday, equalling his goals tally in his previous 74 league games combined.

Image source, Shutterstock

Earlier we asked what you make of the news that, from next season, the Championship play-offs will be expanded to include the teams finishing seventh and eighth?

It was announced on Thursday morning that EFL clubs voted in favour of expanding the play-offs from four to six teams.

Here's a selection of your comments...

Josh, Derby: I don't believe this is necessary. I do think that the play-off format should be aligned throughout the top five leagues, but expanding isn't needed. Better distribution of the monies involved and establishing a clear matchday structure to balance various men's and women's leagues would be a better use of everyone's time. This strikes me undue American influence.

Callum, Dartford: I think it's a good thing so teams can push for promotion that thought they wouldn't get near the play-offs.

Cato, Sheffield: If we adopted it to this season, it means that eighth-placed Derby (on 51 points) have about as much a chance of going up as third-placed Millwall (on 63 points). Plus, to accommodate the extra games, would they extend the season into June? I don't like the idea of it at all, and I hope it's short-lived.

Steve, London: Another example of football being ruined, week by week. Don't you dare think about implementing VAR too.

Mark, Stafford: As a Stoke fan, I think it's good news. The season has come to a grinding halt due to being decimated by injuries. Add to that, the quality of what is coming down from the Premier League, it would mean upsets can happen and still allow teams in that mid-table race to dream of greater heights!

Richard, Stansted: Absolutely ridiculous. What is the point of a league format if you are going to make it a bigger lottery to include even more teams at the end of the season? It also brings teams that are even less ready to actually be in the Premier League into scope. But mostly it's the undermining of the league format which makes no sense. I'm a Derby fan - and we look like we would have a chance of benefiting from this if it were in place this season.

Andy, Nuneaton: Anything that expands the opportunities for those outside of the parachute teams is a good thing. We need to get away from this elite view of the Premier League. If it was up to them, they'd stop automatic promotion and relegation and have a system like Rugby Union, where it's based on meeting certain criteria. The eighth-placed club in the Championship getting to the PL? Bring it on!

Ron, Hayling: Money, Money, Money. Players complain about the amount of games they play with the league games and cup competitions so the intention is to play even more at the end of the season. Owners will make some money but that's all that matters!

Barry, Dartford: Yes it's a fantastic for everyone, all the small teams as well as the big boys, to have something to play for. It will give the end of the season something to look forward to.

Benjamin, Poole: I'm a Charlton fan, so it's unlikely we'll come 8th in the Championship any time soon, however, this is ridiculous. More pandering to Americans to make it more likely they'll make money, which is the only thing they care about. Sporting integrity out of the window again. Shame as I felt the Championship was the last bastion of quality and integrity combined. Game has gone.

Broughton, Derby: Absolute ridiculous, put it back to the old days of three straight up, no play-offs. If you don't make top-three you don't deserve to go up.

Julian, London: The worst decision from a footballing point of view ever! The National League teams have been trying to change their system to be like the current EFL system so it seems a very strange decision for the EFL to take. You can finish 8th after 46 games and still get promoted - sporting integrity has been totally lost with this decision. Money over integrity every time!

Former Championship winger Jobi McAnuff says the victories Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town picked up earlier this week were "huge".

Boro won 3-1 at Birmingham City on Monday night, while the Tractor Boys edged 1-0 past Hull City at Portman Road the following evening.

It leaves second-placed Middlesbrough three points ahead of Ipswich, who are third but have a game in hand and a currently superior goal difference.

"It was huge in terms of Middlesbrough just getting out of that mini slump after doing so well under Kim Hellberg," McAnuff told the BBC Football Daily 72+ podcast.

"Losing what was a huge game at Coventry and then a couple of games against teams you would expect them to go and win that they weren't able to.

"To go and pull off a result at St Andrew's which has been a real tough place for anyone to get results for a very long period of time, to be back in the goals, I think it was really important for them. Then it was over to you [Ipswich]."

McAnuff, who played in the second tier for Reading, Watford and Crystal Palace, says the constant pendulum swing of results is "the beauty of this stage of the season".

"That pressure definitely ramps up when the team you're challenging plays after and you've just got the three points," he added.

"Again for Ipswich to find a way to win, Hull made it really tough for them. But what a strike from [Azor] Matusiwa.

"When you've got that quality to unlock a game that looked as though it might have been drifting for a 0-0, it gives them a massive boost.

"They [Ipswich] are the ones I've always thought they are coming with the quality they've got. They're flip-flopping Jack Clarke and Anis Mehmeti at the moment, it is ridiculous."

Image source, Getty Images

Swansea City's Easter Monday Championship match against promotion-chasing Middlesbrough has been given a new kick-off time after being chosen for live coverage by Sky Sports.

The match had originally been scheduled to start at 15:00 GMT on 6 April at the Swansea.com Stadium but will now move to the later time of 17:30.

Boro won the reverse fixture 1-0 in August with Dael Fry scoring the goal.

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg says his side's work off the ball was instrumental in claiming a crucial victory at Birmingham City in their quest for automatic promotion.

Two goals from Matt Targett and one for David Strelec helped Boro win for the first time in four games and inflict only a second home league loss on Blues in 42 matches.

They are back within five points of leaders Coventry City and managed their success in the west Midlands by scoring with all three of their efforts on target and under 40% possession.

"You come to this place - one loss in two years - they've been absolutely brilliant and you can see that, a very good squad, a lot of good players," Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees.

"For most of the game, we were very, very good, especially in the first half. It was well deserved.

"Our pressing today was outstanding. How hard we worked, how many balls we won high, how we frustrated them. The high pressing and energy today was the key and it's good to see we can win like that, absolutely brilliant."

Image source, Coventry City FC

You might not hear the old terrace refrain of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' as often as you used to, but it still has a better ring than 'the shirt's not fit for you to wear'.

Championship leaders Coventry City launched a new collection on Friday, proudly taking inspiration from a kit widely dubbed the 'Worst of All Time'.

A take on the club's infamous brown change strip worn away from Highfield Road from 1978 to 1981, the modern reinvention features what the club calls "a deeper chocolate plum colour with sky blue elements".

Many would suggest it sounds tastier than it looks.

But it's got us thinking... what are actually the worst EFL kits of all time? Let us know which of your club's shirts is hiding in the back of the wardrobe, or even if they were too ugly for you to even part money for them.

We'll collate a list of the biggest eyesores and will give you the chance to vote on the ghastliest of all next week.

Click here to let us know your suggestion, and you can even attach a picture if you really want to convey the horror.

Kim Hellberg said Middlesbrough are working hard to find their scoring touch but he retains "all the confidence in the world" that it will return.

Boro have slipped five points behind Championship leaders Coventry City following defeat at the Sky Blues and frustrating back-to-back home draws against Oxford United and Leicester City.

Hellberg's side dominated the latter two games and registered a total of 41 shots in them, but only 11 were on target with one goal to show for them, against the Foxes on Tuesday night.

"We are trying to react to it and work from it - we keep moving forward," he told BBC Radio Tees.

"I think we have scored the third most goals in the league since I arrived. We will continue to work on scoring more goals and finding solutions.

"We had four games in a row [from 20 December to 1 January] when we didn't score for seven hours and we tried to work from it to become better, and we did, [scoring 13 over the next four matches].

"Now we're doing the same thing, we don't score enough. And we're still creating a lot of opportunities, but we haven't been efficient enough in those situations."

Hellberg refuted the suggestion his players were lacking energy against Leicester.

"There are a lot of players who have played almost every minute," he said. "We have a thin squad, a lot of players coming back from injury.

"I don't think the energy has been a problem but you can always have more energy. [The problem is] we haven't been quite good enough in situations where we could and should score goals."

Despite the 'blip,' going into the weekend fixtures, with Hellberg's side headed to Birmingham on Monday (20:00 GMT), Boro remain four points clear of third-placed Millwall, though Ipswich Town, six points back in fourth, do have two games in hand.

"I have all the confidence in the world," he said. "We have one loss in nine games, we draw two games [but] when you look at them we created a lot of opportunities.

"We have to keep working, keep finding ways to score and improve. That's what we're trying to do."

Birmingham saw their eight-game unbeaten league run come to an end at Millwall on Wednesday to leave them five points short of the play-off places before the weekend games.

Blues have still only tasted defeat at St Andrew's once so far this season but only Coventry City (29) have taken more points on the road than second-placed Middlesbrough's 28 in the Championship.

• Birmingham City have lost 11 of their past 15 league games against Middlesbrough (W3 D1), losing each of the last six since a 2-0 win in October 2021.

• Middlesbrough have won their past four away league games against Birmingham, only having longer runs against Rotherham (six between 1956-1962) and Liverpool (five between 1957 and 1960).

• No Championship side has lost fewer home league games than Birmingham this season (one). Their 3-2 loss to Hull in October is their only defeat in their past 41 league games at St Andrew's (W29 D11).

• Middlesbrough have won five of their past eight away league games (L3), as many as they had in their previous 20 (D5 L10).

• Morgan Whittaker has been involved in more away goals than any other Middlesbrough player in the Championship this season (eight – four goals, four assists).

Image source, Shutterstock

Former Championship winger Jobi McAnuff believes Ipswich Town will win automatic promotion to the Premier League at the expense of Middlesbrough.

The Tractor Boys are six points behind second-placed Boro with two games in hand, while Millwall are four points back in third, having played the same number of matches as the top two.

Kim Hellberg's side have gone three games without a win, losing 3-1 to leaders Coventry before drawing at home to relegation-threatened Oxford and Leicester.

"I was really keen to see how they reacted to that [defeat by Coventry] because they were in such good form going into that game playing some brilliant football," McAnuff told the Football Daily 72+ EFL podcast.

"What you want to do after what was a disappointing result is get back on that winning run as quickly as you can, particularly with the situation and Ipswich lurking with a couple of games in hand."

McAnuff says Ipswich have resources that "other clubs do not have" with the ability to bring striker George Hirst off the bench and sign players such as Anis Mehmeti and Dan Neil in January.

"I just feel that over the course of the whole season, that will come to fruition for them," said McAnuff, who won the Championship with Reading in 2011-12.

"You talk about the manager [Kieran McKenna], so calm, he's someone who has been there, he's got promotion from the league.

"I think he is going to have a huge part to play and that then also radiates through the dressing room.

"For him and Ipswich Town, that is what is going to get them over the line. I believe they will be in the top two. I genuinely do believe that."

When asked who would drop out of the top two, McAnuff added: "I'm going to say Middlesbrough. As much as performances have been okay the last couple of games, I do think they have a little bit of an issue breaking down teams where they sit deep."

Middlesbrough captain Hayden Hackney says they need to be sharper and "almost force the ball in" to avoid dropping further points in their bid for automatic promotion.

Boro are without a win in their past three Championship games following the defeat at Coventry and back-to-back home draws against Oxford and Leicester, having won six on the bounce before this recent mini blip.

Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with the Foxes was the second time in four days Kim Hellberg's side have failed to beat a side in the relegation zone at the Riverside.

It means Boro now sit two points behind leaders Coventry, who visit Sheffield United on Wednesday, while third-placed Ipswich are six points behind but have two games in hand.

"That's the word, frustration," Hackney told BBC Radio Tees.

"Maybe [we need] something falling for us inside the box, getting that half a yard to finish. Maybe [opposition teams] are sitting off a little bit more, a little bit deeper in the low block.

"But I think it's just our sharpness and maybe what's fallen for us in the last couple of games where the run into the box would be found by the assist.

"I know it sounds easy but maybe that - and having shots and deflections maybe fall your way."

The 23-year-old midfielder does not think Middlesbrough are in a "sticky spot" and says it is "definitely not a lack of effort from the lads".

"They're all giving 100%," he added. "I think it's just touching up on those areas in the final third, which we will do. We'll look back at that and try and improve."

Kim Hellberg remained defiant after his Middlesbrough side again dropped points against a team battling relegation.

Boro have played out two draws since Coventry regained top spot in the Championship by beating them.

Having played out a goalless draw with Oxford United at the weekend, they drew 1-1 with Leicester at the Riverside Stadium.

A win would have taken them level on points with Coventry, but they are six clear of third-placed Ipswich and Hull in fourth, so remain very much on course for promotion.

Head coach Hellberg told BBC Radio Tees: "It makes it one loss in the last nine, but of course you want to win games. We weren't good enough to win today.

"From the last two games we created a lot of opportunities but for us now the ball is not going into the net to win it.

"But in those games we have two more points to our tally. We wanted more but that's done, so we have to work from it and keep improving.

"You take points you get at this stage of the season and keep working. We're in an unbelievable position and we will keep working hard to keep it.

"It was two good teams going at each other. They have a lot of quality and we have the same.