The Whittaker wonder goal:
That was some swerve! 🙂 I could watch it again & again!
Ooh, I got it all wrong. We scored "only" five against Watford.
BTW, our goal difference is now just better than that of Southampton's. Up the Boro!
KH sensibly leaning on Adi Viveash for the run-in because of his experience of the play-offs (copying & pasting in full in case the Echo site suddenly starts playing silly buggers with the paywall again):
Kim Hellberg embracing promotion pressure with Middlesbrough
Scott Wilson, 24th April 2026
WITH Middlesbrough’s season looking increasingly likely to finish in the play-offs, Kim Hellberg is looking forward to seeing how his players handle the pressure of the climax of the campaign.
Boro’s midweek win over Sheffield Wednesday kept their faint hopes of securing automatic promotion alive, but the fact that the Teessiders ended Wednesday night sitting in fifth position, behind Millwall, Ipswich Town and Southampton, underlines just how tough it will be to avoid the play-offs.
Things will be much clearer by the end of this weekend, with Boro hosting Watford in their final home game tomorrow lunchtime before heading to the Racecourse Ground to face Wrexham in their final match of the regular season next Saturday. After that, it is likely to be a play-off semi-final, a scenario that will test the mental capabilities of Hellberg and his players to the limit.
“There are different types of human being, different types of player, and that’s why this is a very exciting time,” said the Boro boss. “To see who grows from it, and who can be relaxed in situations where it’s very tough to be relaxed. There’s a lot of people that need to contribute to the last weeks of the season, and will play a big part of it. It can be players that come from nowhere to be ready to do what is needed. It can be very small moments that decide things at the end of the season, whatever you're playing for. I'm looking forward to seeing who grows from this experience and see this as the opportunity that it is.”
Swedish football does not have a play-off system that is similar to that of the Football League, so while Hellberg has been involved in key end-of-season matches with both Hammarby and Varnamo, the dynamics of Boro’s current situation are new to him.
“Yeah, it’s different,” he said. “In Hammarby, we were playing to get to Europe in the last two seasons, going down to the last four games. But it’s a different way of things here, going into the play-offs. I’m trying to use as much experience around me as possible, talking to people that've been around it. You can prepare in many ways, but you also have to live it. I’m just trying to pick up things from as many experienced people as possible and trying to learn. You also have to try to do it your way, because that's what you are here for, so it’s about balancing my experience with experience from different people.”
To that end, Hellberg has leaned heavily on his assistant, Adi Viveash, who was Mark Robins’ number two when Coventry City beat Michael Carrick’s Boro in the play-off semi-finals two seasons ago. “Adi, with his experience as a coach in these moments, is very, very important to me,” sad Hellberg.
KH's comments on the prospects of HH's & Riley McGree's returning before the end of the season (again from the Echo):
[Boro] will start as strong favourites against a Watford side who have nothing to play for in mid-table and are winless in six games, but will once again be without both Hackney, who is nursing a calf injury, and McGree, who is struggling with a muscular issue.
“It won’t be tomorrow for him [Hackney],” said Hellberg. “To be fair, I don’t really know how long it will be. He’s getting better with every day that’s going. I will tell you when he will be ready to play, but to be fair, I don’t know.
“Riley will probably not be playing against Watford either. I think he needs the game tomorrow and then some more days after that, to be fair. But he will be a part of the training again next week, which is good.”
Hartlepool Mail player ratings:
Whittaker MotM with a 9.
And the Echo's:
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/26053217.middlesbrough-5-1-watford-player-ratings-man-match/
Whittaker again MotM with a 9. Is he finally on the way to becoming the player we thought we were signing?
ALL SMILES 😁😁 AND 3 POINTS!!
An interesting game to any neutral supporters with Boro leading with an excellent goal by Whittaker. Then the game changed with Watford the better team and should have scored before Boro nicked a second goal. Second half and Boro the better team scoring 3 more goals.
So the home fans go home happy, perhaps with the thought that their team might be capable of surprising the opposition in the playoffs. Who knows ?
Before that there is an interesting game to play v Wrexham who are fighting hard for the playoffs and helped by Hull losing today.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍😄👍
HACKNEY FITNESS
interesting that Kim says Mcgree will be training with the players next week but no mention of Hackney training, with the only comment being he doesn’t know when he will be back.
This is not looking good . Reading between the lines he will not play v Wrexham and the playoffs might / might not be possible.
philip of Huddersfield 🤔🤔🤔