After a last-gasp win was followed by familiar frustration in our opening two league games, Boro's next challenge comes at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, kick-off 12:30pm. Unusually, the game will be broadcast live on ITV1.

How Boro's start to the season is viewed at this point probably depends on your own preconceptions. Is what we've seen so far evidence that we're once again a decent footballing side but with the same old frailties? Or are we a team full of new signings that's still settling down while showing promise in patches? In other words, how full, or empty, is your glass?

Blackburn 2-1 Boro was indeed a familiar defeat. And not just because it was Ewood Park or against a Tony Mowbray team. Early on, Boro were on top. Well on top. But as the game drifted towards the moments that matter, we once again came up short.

“The Concession of Avoidable Goals” is a book I could write about Boro in recent years. The only problem is that it would be far too long and painfully repetitive.

And yet it started so well. After a terrific rapped pass forward from Malanda, Whittaker showed fantastic fast feet before the composed conversion from Sarmiento. 1-0 to the Boro courtesy of two players who have yet to be fully taken to Teesside hearts.

That goal was the justified end product of Boro's early dominance. At that stage we were good value for the lead, with the largely unheralded Myles Peart-Harris looking classy and elegant as he drifted around midfield, seemingly always finding space. Added to his more obvious physical attributes, he looks a low-key promising addition.

Meanwhile, new left-back Max Arfsten appears comfortably two-footed. A more than useful weapon in itself, that should ease some concerns about cover for Brittain, at least from an attacking perspective. Indeed, Arfsten covered Brittain in that position in Tuesday night’s rather more routine outing versus Doncaster in the Carabao Cup. The capture of the experienced Sam Byram now alleviates those concerns in any case.

Berhalter also whipped in a few early crosses from the right that, while not quite reaching the quality we saw in the second half against Lincoln, hinted at a new weapon in Boro's attacking armoury. Hackney's drive and thrust cannot be replaced at Championship level but there have been fleeting glimpses from Berhalter that suggest Boro may have found something different that could yet prove effective.

For all that, Boro's dominance barely lasted beyond the half-hour mark. Before long, Vitek was called upon to make a couple of smart saves before Ayling produced a vital goal-line clearance.

Then came two Blackburn goals in quick succession after the break. Not that I actually saw either of them in real time thanks to “technical difficulties”. It was a sickening shock to recover the video feed only to discover that Boro had somehow gone from leading to trailing!

From there, the pattern settled into an all-too-familiar script: Boro's increasingly laboured attacks against a stubborn, everyone-behind-the-ball defence, with precious few answers on offer. Again. So disappointing.

Still, early days.

And so onto the next chapter and West Brom, now managed by gruff-voiced singer-songwriter former Boro schemer, James Morrison.

Morrison took over as interim manager in February following the brief and best-forgotten tenure of Eric Ramsay. He lost only one of his 11 games in charge and eased the Baggies comfortably away from relegation danger in the process. The Darlington-born midfielder, who spent 12 years at West Brom after his frankly bizarre cut-price departure from Boro back in 2007, was rewarded with the job on a permanent basis over the summer.

Happily for Morrison, that solid form has carried into this season, with West Brom one of only two sides to win both of their opening league matches. That's particularly impressive when you consider those victories came against play-off hopefuls Norwich at Carrow Road and much-fancied Burnley.

And that's despite a fair bit of upheaval within the Baggies squad. Somewhat of a summer purge has seen former regulars Alex Mowatt, Josh Maja, Karlan Grant, Jed Wallace and Daryl Dike all departing for modest fees or nothing at all, replaced by lesser-known names such as Norway's Felix Horn Myhre and French midfielder Rabby Nzingoula, among others we’ve never heard of. Former Ipswich full-back Conor Townsend is the only new arrival whose name I recognise.

As for Boro, Saturday already feels a little more important than you might ordinarily expect for a third league game of the season. Two defeats from the opening three matches would hardly constitute a crisis, particularly given the number of new faces bedding in, but it would inevitably crank up the volume on some familiar concerns, and perhaps a few budding ones too such as Hellberg’s ability to find the right solutions. A positive result, on the other hand, would leave Blackburn feeling more like an early-season setback than the continuation of a worrying trend.

My glass is still half-full. West Brom arrive in excellent form and no doubt full of confidence but are unlikely to pose anything on Saturday that we haven't seen before in this league. The question is whether Boro can turn periods of control into something more meaningful and, crucially, cut out the costly mistakes at the other end. If they can manage that, there's every chance of three points.

If not, I may have to start work on that book after all.

Come on Boro.