Hellberg leans on wise heads for new Boro experience that will teach him a lot

The Boro boss is managing in England for the first time, having arrived back in November from Sweden. In his home country, Hellberg won multiple promotions as he built his coaching career, but they don’t use a play-off system there, making this a new experience for him.

While Hellberg is refusing to completely give up on Boro still achieving a top-two finish, he concedes that it is now going to be difficult. As such, there are all sorts of things for the Boro boss to consider, as they have two games of the regular season left before the quick turnaround into the play-off semi-finals.

On the dynamics being new to him, Hellberg said: “Yeah it’s different. In Hammarby we were playing to get to Europe in the last two seasons, going down to the last four games. So it's of course a different way here of going into play-offs.

“I'm trying to use as much experience around me as possible, talking to the people that've been around it, because it's also one thing that I think is difficult. You can prepare in many ways but you also have to live it.

“I think that's one thing of the play-offs in terms of the amount of games you play going into it, and those things, and how you handle that. So I'm just trying to pick up things from as many experienced people and trying to learn.

“You also have to try to do it your way because that's what you are also here for. So a lot of balancing my experience with experience from different people.”

When he looks around the club - both staff and players - he’ll find plenty who do have that experience. There are still a number of players here from the last time Boro made the top-six, and there are also others who’ve done it previously with other clubs like Luke Ayling.

As for the staff, most of Boro’s medical department are long-serving staff members, while on his coaching team his assistant Adi Viveash was in the opposite dugout for Coventry City on that heartbreaking evening for Boro in May 2023.

“We have players as well as staff who have experience of it,” Hellberg continued. “Experienced players overall. Then, of course, Adi [Viveash] with his experience as a coach in these moments is very, very important to me.

“So 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. It can be very small moments that decide things at the end of the season, whatever you're playing for.”

Regardless of the outcome, Hellberg, who has spoken a lot recently about the long-term project and why it isn’t a disaster if Boro don’t win promotion, will see this period as one to learn more about his current players, with the future and growth in mind.

He concluded: “I'm looking forward to seeing who grows from this experience and see this as the opportunity that it is. But also sometimes it could be players that go into games with the shoulders down whatever game it is.

“They're a different type of human being, different type of player, and that's why this is a very exciting time to see who grows from it, and who can be relaxed in situations where it's very tough to be relaxed.”

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