Sky Sports pundit issues verdict on Middlesbrough’s promotion chances after recent losses

Commentator Daniel Mann believes Championship club Middlesbrough will still secure a finish in the play-offs and have a great chance of forcing their way into the Premier League at the end of this term, speaking on the Sky Sports EFL Podcast.

These comments come after consecutive losses in the league, understandably losing out to league leaders Fulham in midweek as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Marco Silva’s side, though manager Chris Wilder believes they should have won something from that clash.

Perhaps more disappointingly, they then followed that up with another 1-0 loss at the weekend against Hull City, who have nothing to play for at this stage with no chance of promotion or relegation under Shota Arveladze.

Dominating the game, Boro should have come out on top in that tie as well and that could prove to be costly at the end of this term, missing a real chance to force their way into the play-offs on Saturday afternoon.

Currently sitting three points adrift of the play-off zone, they have a game in hand to make up that deficit, though they will also be wary of others below them as the top-six race continues to heat up.

Amid all that competition for just four places, with Millwall and QPR still in with a shout of securing their place in the promotion mix, some would be pessimistic about Boro after recent slip-ups but Sky Sports pundit Mann certainly isn’t.

He said: “I certainly wouldn’t rule them out in any situation.

“Going to Bournemouth, that’s going to be an enormous match on the Good Friday.

“I tend to think that they will get there and I think they‘ve got a fantastic chance (of promotion) should they do so.”

The Verdict:

This is certainly not the end for Boro, although they would have had hopes of winning six