Less talk more action please lads!

Less talk more action please lads!

As Boro continue to struggle in the Premier League drop zone there has not been a shortage of players keen to tell us how good the side really is and why they are in a false position.

Following his first goal of the season in the 1-1 FA Cup fifth round draw at West Ham on Saturday Stewart Downing became the latest player to claim Boro have played well and worked hard in recent games with a return to winning ways almost certainly on the horizon.

However it was Adam Johnson and David Wheater saying the same sort of things last week, Robert Huth the week before that, Chris Riggott the week before that and Gareth Southgate chipping in with similar thoughts all along the way.

To be honest the fans are getting a bit sick of hearing the same old back-slapping phrases and clichés being rolled out after another demoralising defeat or a goalless home draw against a relegation rival.

If the players want to make us feel better I would prefer it if they kept their gobs shut and started showing how good they really are with a few victories in the bag to drag us out of the mire we are currently up to our necks in at this moment in time.

Just five goals in our last 13 games, no wins, five draws and eight defeats is a record which has got relegation stamped all the way through it! And, while we looked better against Manchester City, we did still lose the game after spurning numerous chances as the football odds all point towards us going down.

The other worrying thing is the players are saving their goals and performances for the FA Cup matches which won’t put any points on the board. And, while it is argued that good cup results can help boost confidence for the Premier League, it is clearly not happening with the Boro!

Gareth Southgate avoids labelling games as ‘must win’ but personally I cannot describe the visit of Wigan this weekend as anything but that! Gareth says he does not say a game is ‘must win’ because where does it leave us if we don’t win? Well Gareth the Championship for starters!

Personally I don’t know where the five wins Gareth keeps talking about are coming from at this moment in time, but unless the hype is not converted into goals and points quickly, all the talk will be about relegation!

Written by Craig Smithson, a Middlesbrough season-ticket holder and a sports writer who blogs about football betting at Betfair.

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