Boro side following under-par start to season
Cowley also delivered an apt simile on the occasion of his 41st birthday yesterday to explain how he and brother Nicky come to decisions on who starts games and who comes off the bench.
He said: “How you finish the game has a big influence on the outcome so you want to be able to finish in a strong place, and you’re also thinking about the game and how you anticipate it unfolding.
“The position we’ve been in a lot of teams have been quite aggressive against us and that is probably building as the game goes on, and that probably creates some opportunities for us as well.
“So we will always try to select the right team for the right moment.
“We like to have continuity
Cowley also detailed the various ways he has become familiar with Middlesbrough’s players, with his experience lower down the league pyramid providing some object lessons of their capabilities.
He said: “Certainly they have got good players.
“Britt Assombalonga is a boy I saw make his senior debut when he played for Wealdstone on loan when he was at Watford. wherever possible because we think that is important.
“It’s not always possible when the games are coming as thick and fast as they are this week, but wherever possible we like that.
“But it’s also about thinking about your opponent and what they can do to you and what you can do to them. I think by doing that you’re trying to select the right ingredients.
“Nicky always talks about it like a cake, and you need enough of your egg and flour that you’re going to make a nice cake but if you don’t have a little bit of icing and a cherry on top then it’s not always that exciting.
“So I think we’re just trying to find the right complement, ultimately, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”
“They were playing Banbury in the FA Trophy and my Concorde Rangers side were playing Wealdstone the following week.
“Nicky and I would always watch what happened at half-time, because you can learn a lot about players and their behaviour - and I remember him hitting a shot and, to be fair, the crossbar is probably still wobbling!
“He hit it with a real power which you don’t normally see at those levels so, as a result of that, we kind of followed his career.
“They’ve got some really good midfield players - Paddy McNair is powerful and you look at Lewis Wing, fantastic story of a kid who was at the lower end of non-league football and, within a two-year period, is now playing in the Championship.
“And they’ve got three big, physical, front-foot centre halves and one of the best goalkeepers in the league - so they have good, good players.
“I know they haven’t had the start they would have wanted but there is no doubt of the quality within their squad and we anticipate a really tough game.
“But we are buoyed by the fact we are four unbeaten, we have two home games coming up now, and the challenge for us is to try and be five unbeaten and then six unbeaten.”