'I just want': Middlesbrough boss delivers fiery foul-mouthed message ahead of pivotal Portsmouth showdown
The Championship run-in continues this afternoon as Pompey take on high-flying Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg has fired his players a strong foul-mouthed message ahead of this afternoon’s crucial contest against Pompey.
And the head coach has listed what he expects from John Mousinho’s men, who visit the Riverside Stadium looking to move clear of the relegation zone.
The Championship run-in continues in the north east today as the Blues take on promotion-chasing Boro, who are out of sorts and out of form at a critical time of the campaign.
Hellberg’s side dropped out of the top two over the Easter weekend and are without a win in any of their previous five games.
This has seen them pick up just three points during that time, while falling to disappointing defeats to Millwall and Charlton Athletic.
After the Lions’ goalless draw with West Brom on Friday evening, Middlesbrough now sit one point outside of the Championship automatic promotion spots, with five matches remaining to seal a first return to the Premier League since 2017.
Kim Hellberg delivers fiery foul-mouthed message as promotion race heats up
And as the race for promotion heats up, Hellberg has fired a foul-mouthed message to his side ahead of this afternoon’s crucial showdown against Pompey.
Speaking to The Northern Echo, he said: ‘I just want to go out on Saturday and win the ******** game.
‘We're in that period of time, as we talked about, there's been so many possibilities to get that win, where I think the performances have been good enough to get them.
‘But we haven't. And we cannot hide behind performance. So, for the moment, when we go to Saturday, it's all about winning the game. That's the most important thing, and that's what we're trying to do.
‘We have performed in a good way, and kept doing that with different players out - quality players out. That’s despite not having the momentum of winning a game.
‘We’ve kept playing good football, creating opportunities. We have to take belief from that, but, of course, Saturday is more about trying to get the win.’
Middlesbrough boss’ delivers Pompey assessment
Pompey make the long trip to the north east without a win in any of their previous eight, but earned valuable points against Norwich City and Oxford United over the Easter weekend.
Although the Blues sit one point above the relegation zone, Hellberg is not underestimating the difficult challenge awaiting his Boro side at the Riverside Stadium, with this afternoon’s showdown potentially having huge implication at either end of the Championship table.
The Boro boss told BBC Radio Tees: All the teams in this league, it’s a tough league. It’s an important game for them.
‘They’ve come into a tough spell where they play a lot of games in a short amount of time.
‘I think they’ve done some very, very good performances but they struggle some times - just like every team.
‘Direct, physical and quite aggressive team. I think during that time they were very good so it’s a tough opposition.
‘They've been very, very brave in the way they want to attack games and we’ll see how they do it on Saturday but in general they’re quite a good team.’