Boro can feed off positive energy
MIDDLESBROUGH fans have been urged to keep believing ahead of today’s home game against Burnley.
The mood on Teesside has been grim in the wake of Wednesday’s defeat at Hull, which stretches Boro’s winless league run to 13 games and leaves them seven points off safety.
But head coach Steve Agnew says that disappointment not despair is the prevailing emotion inside the dressing room. And while the odds are stacked against Boro staying up, he believes the players are refusing to accept they are fighting a losing battle.
He said: “We’ve had a good meeting, they are all feeling positive. They all know what we have to do and it starts with three points against Burnley. Of course, it’s tough.
“They have to be right mentally and in their game management but we are confident we can do it. Beating Burnley is all we’re looking to do now because that will take us closer to the rest and put some pressure on everyone else.
“The fans have been magnificent this season and they need to carry on backing us because we’ve still got so much to fight for.”
Agnew does not regret his cavalier game plan at Hull – a far cry from the way the team were set up under Aitor Karanka – but says the balance was not right in the 4-2 defeat, with the Boro defence creaking badly.
He said: “It’s clear we need to score goals and win matches and that means going on the attack. But we were caught out when we lost the ball at Hull. It was a big night and maybe we got caught up in all the emotion.
“Taking the lead and knowing how to deal with it has not happened for a while but we’ve spoken about that and learnt from it.”
An away win would just about secure top-flight safety for Burnley – and would give boss Sean Dyche a happy moment to treasure against Boro as a special anniversary approaches.
Dyche has mixed memories of facing Boro, having captained third-tier Chesterfield when they came within a whisker of beating them to reach the FA Cup final 20 years ago on Thursday. Dyche scored a penalty in a famous 3-3 draw at Old Trafford – when a couple of controversial decisions by referee David Elleray arguably cost the Spireites victory.
Dyche said: “If there’s a penalty on Saturday, I’ll not be taking it. I’ll remind you I didn’t want to take that one.
“The Chesterfield lads are doing a bit of a get-together, which I hope I’m going to get to. It is surreal because it’s 20 years – it seems so near, yet so far away. Twenty years is a lot and yet I can remember everything about it.”