Dreams need a little bit of help

BORO were handed a dream pairing in their quest to reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

The clash with League One side Burton Albion at the Riverside offers a marvellous opportunity to earn two dream ties against probable top opposition.

With the possibility of a Wembley final on the horizon, it will be interesting to see if the Burton game grabs the imagination of the fans.

Everybody will want to be at Wembley to see the Boro, but will everybody want to see Burton visit the Riverside on a cold midweek’s December night?

Clearly the crowd of under 12,000 for the arrival of a Premier League side on Wednesday reflects the lack of interest in the early rounds of the competition, rather than the attitude of the Boro fans.

In any case, Crystal Palace are not the most attractive of Premier League sides, even if they are there on merit.

That’s in addition to the fact that Tony Pulis was guaranteed to make changes for the game.

In fact, in this respect, the cup run has worked in the favour of the squad as a whole because Pulis has been able to give fringe players regular 90-minute blowouts.

There is an argument that Boro should be concentrating on the Championship and not giving too much credence to the League Cup.

On the other hand, success breeds success. Pulis will be hoping that Boro can build on their victory against Palace, particularly in games at the Riverside.

As far as the cup is concerned, Nigel Clough’s Burton not only offer Boro the easiest route to the semi-finals but also a potential banana skin situation.

The Boro players need to be fully focussed if they want to get past the Brewers.

After all, Burton have already knocked out the likes of Burnley and Aston Villa.

And, as far as the fans are concerned, how about handing those paying customers against Burton special vouchers to guarantee them a Wembley ticket should Boro get that far?

Now that would be a nice gesture – and also boost the attendance.