Time to Refocus

Boro have the chance to make it a hat-trick of wins against Wolves under the lights at the Riverside.

They will be once again under the scrutiny of television cameras and watching pundits as Boro try to stretch out their neck into one of those highly sought after automatic promotion places.

There are some things we can be certain of against Wolves, Kenny Jackett will-as always-send out a physical team which has caused some Boro fans to voice concerns over defensive selection for tomorrow night and it is that team selection poser which is one of the reasons the match with Wolves is so fascinating. AK’s post-match tirade aimed at some of the Boro faithful’s social media campaign for 4-4-2 means that there are questions over the selection for a must win game at home, especially given the news that captain Leadbitter and star performer Ayala are definitely missing.

Maybe it wasn’t such a surprise that Karanka tried to deflect some of the frustrations of defeat away from his players after all he did work under the king of spin himself Jose Mourinho. Tomorrow may well see AK revert back to his trusted framework and most would expect Clayton to come back in alongside the recently impressive Forshaw who has had a run in the team showing real dynamism even from a deeper midfield role. Ramirez has also shown glimpses of what may turn out to be an excellent acquisition and is quickly becoming a fans favourite. With Ayala missing the natural assumption would be for Fry to continue at centre back but as mentioned some quarters are nervous that he may be bullied by Wolves’ bruising forwards, however the teenager has not appeared ruffled or in any way overawed in any of his appearances and it would certainly be harsh for him not to continue. Karanka has made it clear he trusts him to perform under pressure.

• Is Britt Assombalonga’s time at Middlesbrough coming to an end?
• Lewis Wing’s future at Middlesbrough uncertain

Boro definitely have the class to shine through, though they may well have to fight first to win the right to play football, but if they show the intensity, desire and passion from the first whistle and get out of the blocks in much the same way they did against Fulham, they can get back amongst Burnley and Hull and apply some pressure.

Come on the Boro!!