SHOOTING TO SAFETY
Howson aiming to beat drop
JONNY HOWSON says a day’s clay-pigeon shooting can help struggling Boro beat the drop.
He inherited a passion for the hobby from his dad Mick and believes it’s the perfect bonding session for footballers.
“I took the lads out when I was at Leeds a few years ago and they enjoyed it,” said the Middlesbrough midfielder.
“I’ll have to suggest it to Jonathan Woodgate.
“I get it from my Dad who was never really into football.
“With three kids to look after I don’t get a lot of free time but it’s nice to switch off and get away from things.”
Cynics might suggest that with Boro’s record this season they’d never hit the target. But Friday’s 2-1 win over relegation rivals Stoke saw them lose the unwanted tag of being the lowest scorers in the Championship.
And they go into today’s home clash against Huddersfield – one point and one place above them in the table – looking to pull further away from trouble.
Howson, who at 31-yearsold is Boro’s oldest outfield player, knows what it’s like to be at the wrong end of the table.
He was relegated twice with Norwich, while in his debut season at Leeds the club crashed into football’s third tier.
“I’m fully aware of the feelings that relegation brings and you don’t like talking about it too much,” he added.
“But in all honesty I don’t see too many similarities between now and back then.
“OK, we’ve had some disappointing results but putting that to one side everything else is really positive around the place.
“The management and squad feel very much together.
“In the past – I’m not saying there were big problems – but it was more a feeling of day in, day out, everywhere it was with you.
“Here the atmosphere is really good.”