Wilder ready to embrace quick turnaround to Tigers challenge
NEGOTIATING A short turnaround is always that bit easier on the back of a victory.
Unfortunately, it is something that Middlesbrough will not be afforded ahead of tomorrow’s encounter with Yorkshire rivals Hull City, with the pressure having ramped up for the hosts following their midweek loss to champions-elect Fulham.
Boro were not the first side – and won’t be the last – to be undone by the ruthlessness of Championship goals machine Aleksandar Mitrovic, who scored the only goal of the game on a night when the hosts had enough chances to win, let alone draw.
Instead, Boro lost and dropped out of the top six with less than 72 hours to prepare for the arrival of a Hull side whose previous game was last Friday.
But despite the disappointment, Boro chief Chris Wilder – who gave Fulham their toughest match of the season according to counterpart Marco Silva – at least took some solace when the dust settled.
He said: “We have to react to disappointment as I believed we were good enough to go from Saturday into Wednesday.
“When everyone put their heads on the pillow, our players and supporters will really believe we should have taken something from the game. But we have not for a reason because we did not take those chances and we quickly move onto Saturday.
“The comforting thing from my point of view is that we are all in good nick with the shape, the system and the team is okay.
“If it was going to be exposed, it would be by a team like Fulham and it wasn’t. So there’s belief in how we go about our business and it’s about keeping performance levels high because they were in the second half and they need to be on Saturday.”
Wilder remains hopeful that key winger Isaiah Jones will return after missing out on Wednesday due to illness.