Stewart Downing has dismissed the idea of Middlesbrough throwing away the Championship title with some undesirable poor form towards the business end of the campaign.
There are only eight matches left for the top teams in the Championship. However, just two victories in five league outings means that Middlesbrough have dropped six points behind leaders Burnley at this crucial stage. Even though it still places them second in the table and with an automatic promotion spot to the Premier League, there is an air of disappointment after having dominated the campaign for so long.
Burnley have stepped in at just the right time. It was only in the middle of January when Middlesbrough enjoyed a six-point advantage over the rest of the chasing pack. Much of this good form was done to the brilliance of Stewart Downing, who had returned to the club to help them get back to the Premier League.
After having come through the ranks at the club, Downing went on to represent the likes of Aston Villa, Liverpool, and West Ham before coming back to the north-east. There is likely to be a fair reduction in the number of north-east teams next season. Both Sunderland and Newcastle are looking like certainties for relegation. Downing must miss the days of when he could go into the City and get the best Manchester offers
“People will look and say we are losing and throwing it away. But it only takes one result and you forget about it.We still have to play the teams around us, so we have to keep going.I don’t think it is getting to the players. If we were edgy you would see it, but we played some good stuff.There are 11 games to go, we have the teams around us still to play, we just have to be more clinical like the other teams around us are,” said the former Liverpool winger.