Grant: It’s an ‘opportunity missed’ for Boro
Ex-Sunderland midfielder Grant Leadbitter has lifted the lid on an “opportunity missed” as Middlesbrough slip back to the Championship after just one Premier League season.
Boro’s long-awaited return to the top flight started with a defensive resilience which offered hope of survival, but a big slump in the second half of the campaign left the Teessiders marooned in the drop zone, finishing second-bottom.
Leadbitter, 31, revealed in an interview with the Independent that the Boro players had targeted a lower mid-table finish, but they fell well short.
Leadbitter, from Fence Houses, said of Boro’s season: “I would say it’s an opportunity missed. I wouldn’t say wasted.
“We set a target in Marbella, pre-season, for the club to finish mid-table, between 10th and 13th.
“The manager sets targets and the players respect that, we believed we could do it. The squad was good enough – there’s a lot of good people in that dressing room.
“I didn’t think it was optimistic, when you get promoted, you feel you can carry that momentum.
“We had togetherness that got us promoted and we started this season OK. Unfortunately we finished in the bottom three. There are special people at this club and we’ve let them down, we’ve let down the fans.”
Boro’s biggest problem was clearly the lack of goals – they have managed just 27 in 37 matches, the worst in the division, ahead of Sunday’s final game at Liverpool. Alvaro Negredo has managed only nine league goals all season.
Defensively, they have been the best record of all the teams from 10th place down, but that solidity was just not enough.
Asked about the lack of goals, Leadbitter added: “Everyone wants to play expansive football, it’s about getting a balance. Maybe we’ve not got the balance right.
“We have attacking players, but I think Alvaro’s the only one who’s scored goals in the Premier League.”
“When you’re losing, players have opinions – I like that.
“Maybe we haven’t had enough opinions this season, we’ve gone along with certain things. When you’re not winning, should there not be disagreements? I think there should be. Because obviously something’s not right.”