Source: Northern_Echo
Davies hands Mowbray a worry
TONY MOWBRAY aims to get Middlesbrough feeling positive after suffering a double blow against Queens Park Rangers that has further restricted his options at the heart of his defence.[LNB] Just two matches in to his second spell at Boro, Andrew Davies suffered a hamstring injury that will be assessed this morning but he will definitely miss tomorrow night's visit of Nottingham Forest.[LNB] Mowbray was reluctant to estimate a timescale on when the centre-back would return, although with Matthew Bates and Stephen McManus already sidelined for the next six weeks at least he knows that alternatives are limited.[LNB] German defender Maxi Haas was the man who played the final eight minutes of the 3-0 defeat to QPR on Saturday, while Jonathan Grounds would hope to be recalled against Forest.[LNB] Mowbray said: Andrew Davies is very unhappy at the moment, we are going to have to wait and see as he's picked up a hamstring injury. It could be eight weeks or it could be one, we'll find out in due course.[LNB] The Middlesbrough manager was trying to remain upbeat after watching his team slip to a second successive home defeat against the Championship's top two and his worst reversal since taking over.[LNB] But he knows Forest, who lie fifth, also have big intentions of promotion this season and has warned his relegation threatened players to expect the match to be just as hard as QPR and Swansea.[LNB] Forest will be just as tough if not more difficult, he said. They've got a squad that knows what it takes to win as they've been doing so for quite a while now and they'll be desperate to get into the top two and win promotion having missed out in the play-offs over recent years.[LNB] We know how tough it will be yet if we can show the attitude and commitment that we've shown over the last few months then I'll know we can be a match for them.[LNB] With Middlesbrough still sitting five points above the bottom three, Mowbray knows the situation is not grave. He does, though, not want to dwell on the ninth defeat since taking over in October.[LNB] I don't think this is my worst day since coming back to Middlesbrough. It would be a bit harsh to say that it is, he said. That's football. You have to take it on the chin sometimes. We were playing against a team that's top of the table but 3-0 was a bit harsh.[LNB] The scoreline is what it is. When you're top of the table like QPR those things go for you but they certainly have got some decent players.[LNB] To coin a Jose Mourinho phrase, they park the bus and just leave it there their full-backs don't cross the halfway line and the front four have individual talent that can win them matches.[LNB] That's a formula which seems to be working very well for them this year. When you're top of the table after 30 games, you must be a decent side and they got the job done.[LNB]
