Chris Wilder is not looking for excuses as Middlesbrough take on Birmingham City

Chris Wilder takes his Middlesbrough side to Birmingham City tonight as his side look for their first away win of 2022.

Although they sit comfortably in the table just one point off the play-off spots, Wilder has acknowledged that his side’s recent form hasn’t been as good as they would’ve expected.

That being said with their FA Cup run too, Wilder’s side have played a massive number of games so far this year. However, the Middlesbrough boss has insisted he will not be using this excuse and other teams have been affected too.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “There’s no excuses because everybody’s in the same boat. Everybody is looking towards the international break but unfortunately not all our boys will be able to rest. This is part and parcel of having some good players.

“It’s important we get something at Birmingham, we take that opportunity to breathe and then there’s nine games to go and we’re into the last bit of the season where it’s full tilt.

“The ones that will use it as one excuse will use it as an excuse but others will pile through it and show a really strong mentality, a state of mind to get through the games and be strong physically and mentally.”

Wilder admitted he feels tonight’s game is an important one for his side as he said: “These are the money games now. We’ve set it up great to be in the mix and if we don’t get a result we’ll still be in the mix but it will benefit us in our question to get in the top six.”

The Verdict:

Middlesbrough have definitely had a hard number of games to juggle so far this year having played 14 games so far, but it’s good to see Wilder is looking above excuses because even the best of them don’t give you wins.

The Middlesbrough boss is looking for his side to show a strong