![\"Middlesbrough's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_Middlesbrough-v-Southampton-Sky-Bet-Championship-Riverside-Stadium.jpg\")
Middlesbrough’s Morgan Whittaker celebrates scoring(Image: PA)<\/p>\nMiddlesbrough have won five of their nine games under Kim Hellberg so farMiddlesbrough’s Morgan Whittaker celebrates scoring(Image: PA)<\/p>\n
Morgan Whittaker has explained why he believes Middlesbrough players have taken so quickly to Kim Hellberg and his methods.<\/p>\n
The new Boro<\/a> 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\u2019t put the ball in the back of the net.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Asked what it\u2019s been like working under the new head coach, Whittaker explained: \u201cReally great. I think he knows the quality of everyone and tells us that every day, so we know we have the trust from him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just little details that he\u2019s helped with on the pitch to get us in the best possible areas to use our best qualities, and it\u2019s showing. I think even defensively the messages are very clear for us attacking players and we all know what we have to do.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019ve got the ball, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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\u2019s really good to watch and be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n Enjoying an excellent personal season, Whittaker\u2019s double at the weekend took him to double figures for the campaign. Six of those ten goals have come in Hellberg\u2019s nine games in charge.<\/p>\n On hitting his tenth of the season on Sunday, he said: \u201cIt\u2019s massive. I think as a target, double figures is always a nice target, so to get it so early\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully I can just keep going on now. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Whittaker\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n He admitted: \u201cIt\u2019s been tough. I think with the season we\u2019ve had, not getting points, losing at home and back-to-back losses, it\u2019s tough to take. But we know the quality in the dressing room to overcome it, and I think today\u2019s the perfect example of that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the quality we\u2019ve got and we know even if teams are defending, we\u2019re 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\u2019re getting the chances, it\u2019s just taking them.<\/p>\n \u201cPatience has been the message from the players as well because we know teams, even if they\u2019re doing well, they\u2019re changing how they\u2019re playing against us because they have to.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just about being patient. The game\u2019s 90-95 minutes long, so just trying to get that first goal, get everyone to calm down a bit and then go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Whittaker was speaking after Boro\u2019s win over Southampton on Sunday. On the importance of that, he said: \u201cIt was massive. It didn\u2019t feel too different to the last four games when the results haven\u2019t been there.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know we\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n And admitting they know what’s going on elsewhere, Whittaker added: \u201cIt\u2019s a massive relief. I think when you see Coventry lose, Ipswich off, you think it\u2019s a perfect opportunity to get points on the board.<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially against a good team like that, 4-0, it shows everyone else in the league that we\u2019re back and we\u2019re on a run again.\u201d<\/p>\n Here at TeessideLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Middlesbrough FC<\/a> coverage and analysis.<\/p>\n Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest Boro news by joining our free WhatsApp group. 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