Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder makes bold Hull City claim

Chris Wilder believes Hull City could cause his Middlesbrough side problems when the pair meet at the Riverside Stadium next weekend, largely because the Tigers will be playing with a degree of freedom given their Championship status is almost assured.

Wilder, whose Boro side are preparing to face relegation-threatened Peterborough United at London Road this afternoon, admits teams with little to play for in terms of league positions can pose the greatest threat because they’re playing for pride, and because the shackles are often released, it can make the games more difficult.

The Tigers have lost four of their last five visits to Teesside and will arrive on the back of Friday night’s 0-1 defeat to Boro’s fellow promotion rivals Huddersfield Town at the MKM Stadium, a result which extended their woeful run of five successive home defeats to six - a joint club recored.

“I’ve said it before and I’ve been consistent with it. To be in this game and to be involved in professional football at the highest level, you don’t get there by not wanting to win. Whether you are a mid-table team that’s got nothing to play, whether you’re a team fighting to stay in the division or a team fighting to get out of the division,” Wilder told Teesside Live.

“Those games at the end of the season against teams that have got nothing to play for will possibly be the hardest games because of the pride of people that are in the positions of being involved in professional football. The fixture list for us, for Peterborough, will look different for everybody else. There’s not a kind fixture list for anybody in my opinion. They are what they are and we all have huge challenges in front of us. We’ve got a huge challenge in front of us on Saturday.

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