'Hellberg must hit ground running with pack closing in'published at 15:55 GMT 28 November
'Hellberg needs to get off to a good start with Boro'
The pressure is already on Kim Hellberg as he prepares for his first game in charge of Middlesbrough.
Hellberg takes charge of Boro for the first time against in-form Derby County at Riverside Stadium on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
Speaking on BBC Radio Tees' fan panel, Boro fan Brian warns, "I think at the moment we are going backwards. We're only two draws instead of wins away from being out of the top six because the pack is closing.
"Teams like Derby County, five or six [recent wins] I think it is. Last time I was on, I was saying how poor the relegated teams were, Ipswich are on a roll. Southampton got a good away victory last week."
A 4-2 loss to Coventry on Tuesday night means Boro are now 10 points behind the league leaders, have dropped out of the automatic promotion spots and could be looking over their shoulder at teams below them.
Brian added: "The gap is closing and this is why I think really Kim, this new appointment, he really needs to start off on the front foot. There's lots of challengers there.
"I wouldn't swap our position, I just think we need to do a little bit more to protect it.
"He needs to hit the ground running because Friday evening, Preston play away at Oxford, if they win that, we could find ourselves down at fourth place before we play Derby County."
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