We Are Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards is expecting a tough challenge from former club Watford as he prepares to make his first return to Vicarage Road.

Edwards was sacked by the Hornets in September 2022 after just 139 days and 10 Championship games in charge.

He faced Watford twice as Luton manager but both were at home and Edwards told BBC Radio Tees: "It'll be a nice experience, a new one to be going back.

"I wasn't there that long and it was a while ago now. It is, and has to be, just another game for me.

"You learn from every experience, good and bad. It was frustrating it was such a short spell, but it was probably the right thing for me and the club. I took a lot from it."

Watford have picked up 13 points from six home games and Edwards added: "They are very strong and Javi Gracia has gone back in there, an experienced and a very good coach, we're expecting a really challenging game, a difficult one for us."

Boro remain second in the Championship, three points behind leaders Coventry, but have scored only 16 goals across their opening 12 matches, 18 fewer than the Sky Blues.

Those goals have been shared among 11 players, with none scoring more than twice.

"There are a lot of additions across the league that are taking time to adapt to the league, at various clubs, some that are firing have maybe been in the league for a few years," said Edwards.

"We have to be patient and let lads settle in to a new country and environment, that's important.

"We created a lot of chances against Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday and the second half intensity was brilliant against Wrexham.

"What Coventry are doing right now is not normal and there are only one or two others who have outscored us. Give us time and I'm sure things will click."

Riley McGree is set to feature against Watford but Alex Bangura misses out with illness.

Click here for the full interview with Edwards and more Middlesbrough content via BBC Sounds.

Image source, PA Media

Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards says he has no concerns about his strikeforce in the Championship this season.

Boro go into this weekend's match with Edwards' previous side Watford in second place in the table.

They have scored 16 goals in 12 games - fewer than half the 34 hit by leaders Coventry - and no player has more than two goals in the league.

Coventry's Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante already have 17 league goals between them while Boro striker David Strelec has not scored in seven games for club and country.

Edwards told BBC Radio Tees: "Across the board there are a lot of new additions who have taken time to adapt and some who are firing have been in the league a few seasons.

"We have to be patient and allow lads to settle into a new country. We are always going to want more but we created a lot of chances last week. I am not too concerned. It always takes time.

"Coventry are doing what they are doing and so we will be compared to them but what they are doing is not normal.

"After that there are only a few teams who have outscored us and we have a good balance. Give us more time and I am sure things will improve."

"If he just plays the same players week in, week out, he [Boro boss Rob Edwards] says they will just break, so he has to mix it up. But that's difficult when you are trying to get attacking players in a rhythm and trying to get them to find form.

"Tommy Conway needs a goal, David Strelec needs a goal, Kaly Sene needs a goal - you are just waiting for one of them to take off and they will."

The Northern Echo's Dom Shaw and the Gazette's Craig Johns discuss the attacking conundrum at Middlesbrough.

Listen to the full analysis and more Middlesbrough content on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Rex Features

Former Middlesbrough full-back and BBC 72+ EFL pundit Tommy Smith has been named as Boro's new loans manager.

The 33-year-old, who also played for Huddersfield and Stoke over a 10-year playing career, retired earlier this year after sustaining a ruptured Achilles playing for Boro in October 2023.

His new role at the Riverside will see Smith maintain contact with players out on loan and their clubs to help their development.

"I'm absolutely delighted," he told the club website., external "It's a fantastic football club and I've really felt a part of it since I arrived as a player, so I'm over the moon to be carrying on, albeit in a slightly different role.

"I'm really grateful to the club for how they've been with me through the last two years. The support I've had through the injury and the retirement is something I'll be eternally grateful for.

"The role is all about getting the best out of the players who are out on loan. I'll be able to watch them train and play, be in regular contact and ultimately try to give them the best opportunity to come back and make a difference to Middlesbrough."

"I think first half that's as bad as I've seen us this season. In terms of intensity, all of those words we mentioned that Rob Edward's wants his team to have, they didn't have."

Listen to the post-match analysis from Matty Nixon, Neil Maddison and Dana Malt after Middlesbrough's 1-1 draw with Wrexham.

Hear the thoughts of boss Rob Edward's and defender Callum Brittain with Boro now three points behind leaders Coventry City.

Listen to the full episode and more on BBC Sounds.

Middlesbrough defender Callum Brittain says his team "must take the positives" despite dropping points at home to Wrexham on Saturday.

The 1-1 draw with the Red Dragons saw a three-point gap open up between Boro and leaders Coventry City after their 3-1 victory over Watford.

Brittain provided the assist for Hayden Hackney's equaliser but insisted the team made too many mistakes in the first half.

"I think we need to give ourselves credit for getting back into the game but we can't start games like that," he told BBC Radio Humberside.

"We were letting the opposition come onto us, we were making too many mistakes, but you have to take the positives from it, we're still unbeaten at home.

"We showed character second half, that's the main thing. We've got to make this place a fortress, we have to make it hard for other teams to come here.

"We definitely feed off the crowd, I though they were amazing today."

Boro travel to face Watford on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards said he has received an apology from PGMOL after referee Thomas Kirk did not award Tommy Conway a penalty kick during their 1-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday.

The forward was brought down following a heavy challenge from Owls goalkeeper Joe Lumley, however, Kirk waved away any penalty appeals.

"I've had a conversation with [the referee manager in the Championship] Kevin Friend on it, and it was a really good, open honest one, and they realised it should have been a penalty," Edwards told BBC Radio Tees.

"You can accept it now because no real harm was done. People are human beings, they can make mistakes, but I just felt like that was a clear one."

Boro meet Wrexham on Saturday (15:00 BST), with the potential to top the league should Coventry City falter in their lunchtime fixture against Watford.

The Red Dragons have enjoyed three successive promotions under current boss Phil Parkinson, and while the Welsh side have not yet emerged as contenders to make it a fourth, Edwards has plenty to admire about the club.

"What Phil has done, I'm not sure anyone has done that. It's incredible what he's done from a managerial point of view," Edwards said.

"It's pretty special what they've achieved there."

Listen to the full interview with Edwards and more Middlesbrough content on BBC Sounds.

Image source, PA Media

Middlesbrough head coach Rob Edwards says it was a case of "job done" after their narrow win at troubled Sheffield Wednesday.

Morgan Whittaker's sixth minute goal proved enough although only a series of saves from Owls debutant goalkeeper Joe Lumley prevented the visitors from finishing the game off.

Without that buffer, Edwards was just pleased that those missed chances did not prove costly.

"We got the job done in the end," he told BBC Radio Tees. "All that mattered was the three points, not really how we did it.

"We didn't get the second goal, which I think we deserved and that always kept them in it, always kept them believing they were one moment away from something.

"So I was really pleased to keep the clean sheet and the win in the end."