Boss delighted as Boro finish strongly
THIS season may not have the fairytale ending we’d all hoped for at the start, but in finishing it in such fine form, Middlesbrough are providing plenty of hope for the future.
Moving their recent record to just one defeat in 11, the latest victory at Cardiff City to wrap up Boro’s away campaign in style had so much to like. With goals from Matt Clarke, Finn Azaz, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Alex Gilbert, there were encouraging individual performances, quality and ruthless attacking on show – and also proof of a key ingredient Michael Carrick discussed before the game growing among this squad again.
This – Boro’s penultimate game of the season – was the first in which they knew mathematically that their play-off hopes were gone. The previous nine games before the Leeds defeat had all carried an air of ‘nothing to lose’ in Boro’s approach, with hope that a top-six finish was still achievable if they kept winning.
In the end, it proved a little too much for them and, after a long and arduous campaign it would have been easy for them to take to the bleachers early with nothing left to play for.
Ahead of a long trip to Cardiff, however, Carrick made his feelings clear. “We want to win,” he said. “We want to create a winning culture.”
It’s a key ingredient for any successful side as Carrick knows all too well. While the game in South Wales might not have been as plain-sailing as the scoreline suggests, he found his side in a winning mood – determined to get a victory, regardless of what was at stake.
“It’s encouraging,” the Boro boss said after. “It’s all right me talking about it, me telling the players and encouraging the players, but it has to come from them. Self-drive and them motivating each other; it comes from the playing group really. I’m delighted. Some of the game could have been better but largely we went about it the right way. I’m really happy with the players.”
That winning culture could be crucial going forward. It’s something Boro found during an excellent run last season but, with so many changes to the squad last summer and so many younger faces arriving, a poor start to the campaign hit belief and confidence.
Throughout a complicated season, finding consistency has proven difficult, but this Boro team are now starting to get that winning feeling. It
It’s all right me talking about it ... encouraging the players, but it has to come from them.
comes sadly too late in this season, but with real hope and expectation that the majority of this squad will still be together next term.
Latte Lath continued his fine form. Another fine finish moved him to ten goals in 11 games and 16 overall for the campaign. Rav van den Berg continues to ooze quality and has expressed his desire to stay, while his centre-back partner Clarke – who started the Boro scoring on the day – has surely eradicated earlier fears he wasn’t quite suited to Carrick’s ideal style of play. Azaz continues to be a source of real encouragement too. It’s not been the simplest of starts for him.
Poor form for the team overall, formation changes and a lack of options forcing him to be thrust in were hardly the best conditions for him making an immediate impression.
Nevertheless, in recent weeks he has started to show flashes of what he’s capable of. This one at Cardiff was most certainly his best performance yet in a Boro shirt. “You can see him growing and feeling more comfortable in his surroundings,” Carrick said. “He’s growing in confidence and belief.”
There should be high hopes for next season, not just for Azaz, but for Boro in general. This is an excellent end to the season in which Boro are proving their desire to succeed. They will need to add some extra quality in another crucial summer ahead for sure, but quality will only take you so far. A winning mentality has to be present too, and Boro are ending this season with that in abundance.