LET’S PUL IT OUT THE BAG
Boro boss wants better
TONY PULIS wants his Middlesbrough side to end their week from hell on a high – by beating Leeds in front of the Riverside’s biggest crowd of the season.
Boro were dumped out of the FA Cup by League Two Newport on Tuesday night.
And as if that humiliation wasn’t bad enough, a group of players were involved in a heated exchange with their own fans after the shock 2-0 defeat.
To make matters worse, the squad didn’t arrive back to Teesside until 7am the following morning after their flight home was aborted and they had to make the 300-mile journey back by coach.
It meant they missed a day’s training to catch up on sleep and with strikers Britt Assombalonga and Jordan Hugill plus George Saville and Lewis Wing picking up knocks in south Wales, it has hardly been ideal preparation.
“Tuesday was certainly eventful,” said Pulis. “It wasn’t our day from start to finish. We spent seven hours on a bus having been on a plane ready to take off for 45 minutes.
“And our supporters stood on an open terrace with the rain tipping down and got absolutely soaked and watched their team be well beaten, so it’s not just us who had a poor day.”
Pulis says he can understand the angry reaction of some of those fans who vented their feelings at the players.
“Their lives revolve around this club and you have to show them respect even if you are being criticised,” he said.
“I’ve had a chat with the players and sorted one or two things out. It’s happened and we move on.” Despite their cup horror show, Boro’s league form is good.
They won at West Brom seven days ago and Pulis wants a repeat performance today.
But it will be tough against a Leeds team Pulis says have a clear identity under boss Marcelo Bielsa.
“As a coach, I hate watching a team when you don’t know how they will play, when they don’t have shape and you can’t work out what they are trying to achieve,” he said.
“I like to see a style they have worked on and under Bielsa, Leeds play it long, play it short, attack in numbers and have good rotation in important areas.
“No-one can question their application and you have to be physically strong to compete.”