‘TAKE SHOTTS AT PLAYERS.. NOT WOODY’

RYAN SHOTTON leaped to Jonathan Woodgate’s defence and claimed he is the best boss he has played under.

With Middlesbrough now mired in a relegation scrap, fans are questioning whether or not the former Tottenham and Real Madrid defender “is good enough”.

Conor Chaplin’s 73rd-minute winner lifted Barnsley off the bottom and to within six points of the struggling visitors.

Winless in eight games, Woodgate is under pressure as his side prepare to host promotion hopefuls Leeds on Wednesday and then Nottingham Forest.

But defender Shotton, who has previously worked under Tony Pulis, Mark Hughes, Gianfranco Zola and Harry Redknapp, said: “Yes, he can turn this around. Of course he can. I bump into people in the street and they ask me if he is good enough. Of course he is.

“He is the best manager I have had, hands down. He is great with the lads, his man-management is brilliant, and his quality on the training ground is perfect.

“We just haven’t been showing that on the pitch. That’s what we have to turn around, it’s down to us. I am excited for Wednesday because there is no better game to bounce back in.”

Boro failed to have a shot on target – and were beaten when Chaplin fired in after seeing a first effort hit the underside of the bar.

Tykes centre-back Michael Sollbauer said: “We are maturing, I feel it. After every game, I feel we get smarter in some situations.

“You have to play smarter, especially in the last minutes of games. But we are still alive.”