Source: Northern_Echo
Hughton sees Boro as promotion rivals
THERE may be 17 points separating them in the Championship, but Chris Hughton still feels Middlesbrough are genuine promotion rivals this season.[LNB] A defeat for Boro at St James' Park on Sunday is likely to see the Teesside outfit drop into the bottom half of the table after a frustrating few months under Gordon Strachan.[LNB] But Hughton remains full of admiration for Strachan and thinks it is a matter of time before Middlesbrough are back in the mix hunting for a place back in the Premier League.[LNB] Boro have won just one of their seven matches since Strachan took over from Gareth Southgate, which has seen them drop out of promotion contention.[LNB] But having been involved in defeats against Blackpool and Scunthorpe this season, Hughton is convinced such results are an indication of how quickly things can turn around.[LNB] I have no doubt that Middlesbrough will be there or thereabouts in the promotion race. I still regard them as promotion rivals for us, said the Newcastle manager.[LNB] It is just the way the league is any team can beat any other team on their day and they're just experiencing that.[LNB] We found that at Scunthorpe but it doesn't make them (Middlesbrough) a bad team.[LNB] If anyone thinks we've got an easy game because they're in a bad run of form, they're wrong. I thought they were very unfortunate to lose against Cardiff. On the balance of play they deserved more from the game than they got.[LNB] I expect them to come at us very, very hard. They have quality in their squad and sometimes it just takes time for everything to come together under a new manager.[LNB] Middlesbrough's defeat to Cardiff increased the tension around the Riverside, where sections of the supporters are already starting to turn on Strachan.[LNB] Hughton feels such criticism so early in his reign is premature.[LNB] Gordon is a very, very experienced manager and I've only really been doing it for a short period of time so there is not much I can say about his situation, said Hughton.[LNB] I'm sure he will come out the other end because he is a manager with a track record of success. He's been round the block and he's been through this type of thing before.[LNB] Sometimes a new manager comes in and it changes your form, sometimes it doesn't have the same effect but his track record is there for everyone to see. I'm sure they will be difficult opponents for us on Sunday.[LNB] Newcastle's home date with Cardiff has been brought forward to Friday, February 5.[LNB] It was originally scheduled to take place the following day but it clashed with Sunderland's Premier League fixture with Wigan.[LNB]
