MIDDLESBROUGH

Last season was encouraging, even if we faded away disappointingly.

This season will be different to last because we’ll have an almost entirely new attack. Ashley Fletcher, Britt Assombalonga and Marvin Johnson have all been released.

I’ve really missed the pre- match buzz around town, around the ground and on the concourse. That atmosphere of hope before kick- off. Instead of going to the football last season I spent far too much time playing Football Manager. I won’t be happy unless we make the play- offs. Our most underrated player is Marcus Tavernier. Now we know how good he is, it’s time to show the rest of the league.

Look out for Nathan Wood. The 19- year- old centre- back is a super talent with a big future. The opposition player I secretly admire is Kieffer Moore. If we’d signed him last season, he would have powered us to the Premier League – or scored four goals and not made Wales’ Euros squad... The pantomime villain will be whoever we sign to play upfront when they don’t immediately transform our attack. The one change I’d make would be for us to employ a modern footballing structure and not be so reliant on a manager’s whims.

Save the date for Derby County. There’s a weird beef between the fans, due to the owners’ squabbles.

The best thing about matchday at Boro is buying a Fly Me To The Moon fanzine – the first publication I ever wrote for.

Other clubs’ fans don’t know that we became the first team to sign a player for £ 1,000.

Our key player will be Dael Fry [ above]. A rock at the heart of our defence, his progress in the last 12 months has been outstanding. The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is quite positive. Neil Warnock [ below] knows what he’s doing, but some remain unconvinced by the fact that he’s the definition of short- term. We’ll finish 6th.