Middlesbrough have won five of their nine games under Kim Hellberg so far
Middlesbrough’s Morgan Whittaker celebrates scoring(Image: PA)
Morgan Whittaker has explained why he believes Middlesbrough players have taken so quickly to Kim Hellberg and his methods.
The new Boro boss enjoyed an excellent start at the Riverside, winning his first four games in charge. What followed was a frustrating winless four-game period, though Boro largely dominated all four of those games and just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.
But changing their fortunes and ending the run emphatically on Sunday, Boro moved back to second in the Championship with a 4-0 victory over Southampton, as Hellberg continues to impress at Boro.
What’s been particularly impressive, despite arriving at the end November and therefore having limited training time during the busy festive period, is how quickly Hellberg has moulded Boro into a team of his image – which is in contrast to the defensive-minded focus of his predecessor Rob Edwards.
Asked what it’s been like working under the new head coach, Whittaker explained: “Really great. I think he knows the quality of everyone and tells us that every day, so we know we have the trust from him.
“It’s just little details that he’s helped with on the pitch to get us in the best possible areas to use our best qualities, and it’s showing. I think even defensively the messages are very clear for us attacking players and we all know what we have to do.
“When we’ve got the ball, it’s just freedom for the attacking players and the defensive players to get us the ball in the best possible areas, and I think it showed today.
“I think you can see on the pitch, not just me but everyone, all the attacking players are gelling together really well. Even the ones that come on are doing the same. It’s really good to watch and be a part of.”
Enjoying an excellent personal season, Whittaker’s double at the weekend took him to double figures for the campaign. Six of those ten goals have come in Hellberg’s nine games in charge.
On hitting his tenth of the season on Sunday, he said: “It’s massive. I think as a target, double figures is always a nice target, so to get it so early…
“Hopefully I can just keep going on now. It’s just about being in the right positions and just knowing that the players will get the ball into good areas and just trying to be there.”
Whittaker’s goals helped Boro end their four-game winless run. The forward said that the recent results had been even harder to take because of how positive the campaign has been overall.
He admitted: “It’s been tough. I think with the season we’ve had, not getting points, losing at home and back-to-back losses, it’s tough to take. But we know the quality in the dressing room to overcome it, and I think today’s the perfect example of that.
“We know the quality we’ve got and we know even if teams are defending, we’re creating a lot of chances. I think we had something like 22 shots today and how many shots were in the last game? So we know we’re getting the chances, it’s just taking them.
“Patience has been the message from the players as well because we know teams, even if they’re doing well, they’re changing how they’re playing against us because they have to.
“It’s just about being patient. The game’s 90-95 minutes long, so just trying to get that first goal, get everyone to calm down a bit and then go from there.”
Whittaker was speaking after Boro’s win over Southampton on Sunday. On the importance of that, he said: “It was massive. It didn’t feel too different to the last four games when the results haven’t been there.
“We know we’ve been getting a load of shots, creating a load of chances and we know if we score first then teams are going to have to change against us. We felt a sense of relief and hopefully we can go and get more goals.
And admitting they know what’s going on elsewhere, Whittaker added: “It’s a massive relief. I think when you see Coventry lose, Ipswich off, you think it’s a perfect opportunity to get points on the board.
“Especially against a good team like that, 4-0, it shows everyone else in the league that we’re back and we’re on a run again.”
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