Roberts can be the difference in Boro’s bid to avoid the drop
THERE WERE very few positives to be taken from Middlesbrough’s performance against Swansea City on Saturday.
The Teessiders conceded three times without reply in the space of 16 first-half minutes as they sank to 21st place in the Championship, outside the relegation zone on goal-difference alone.
If there was one glimmer of hope then it was the display – off the substitutes’ bench – of Manchester City loanee, Patrick Roberts.
The 23-year-old winger looked the home side’s greatest threat, twice creating decent secondhalf openings inside the Swans’ box with his quick feet.
He is still feeling his way back into the action following a hamstring injury, but head coach Jonathan Woodgate believes that if Roberts can stay fit, he will have a big part to play in keeping Boro up. “He’s the difference. If you get him on the pitch as much as you can, then great,” said Woodgate.
“I think we’ll be all right if we have him on the pitch as much as we can. Obviously he’s not fully fit, but he’s getting there.
“As you can see, when he comes on he makes the team a lot better.”
While a fully-fit Roberts will doubtless provide Woodgate with more of a cutting edge, it was at the other end of the field where Boro lost Saturday’s contest.
The Swans raided at will at times, making incisions in a porous home defence like the proverbial knife through butter.
One of the finest English centre-halves of his time during the early part of his playing career, Woodgate is all too aware of where his team is going wrong.
“It’s doing the basics right,” he added. “If you analyse their goals, it’s about tracking runners into the box and not leaving them. That’s all it boils down to.
“Don’t turn your back on certain things, be aggressive in your defending. Little things like that will win you games.”