PULIS: WE HAVE NO DEFENDERS

Championship: Tomorrow, 1pm TONY PULIS claims Middlesbrough are running out of defenders ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Blackburn.

And after a transfer window in which he hoped to bolster his resources, the Boro chief reckons he came out of January with a squad less equipped for the task ahead.

The midweek defeat at promotion rivals Sheffield United wasn’t just costly in terms of losing ground on the Championship pacesetters.

Boro also lost two key defenders. Aden Flint (left) picked up a hamstring injury, sidelining him for a month, and Daniel Ayala was sent off, ruling him out of the Ewood Park game.

With Wolves loanee Danny Batth having left the club to join Stoke on a permanent basis, it leaves Boro desperately short at the back, and Pulis (above) said: “We’ve run out of defenders. It’s not ideal because we’ll miss Flinty and Dani, but there’s nothing we can do.

“We became weaker after the window when Danny went. Not many teams can get away with losing three defenders.” Pulis knows a top-two finish is now looking a long shot but added: “There is still a quarter of the season to go and we’ve seen a few strange results recently.”