Boro player encapsulates fight Hellberg sees in his team - 'Cannot understand'

It was ultimately a disappointing Easter weekend for Boro as they lost to promotion rivals Millwall before only managing a draw at Swansea City. The result is Boro losing their grip on second spot with just five games remaining.

Despite that, Boro showed fight at Swansea to find a way to earn a point, after a disappointing first half saw them surrender a lead as two costly errors resulted in conceding two penalties.

Morris earned man of the match for Boro in both Easter weekend matches which, when in the context of the huge journey he’d undertaken in the days before the Millwall game, having been on international duty with the USA.

“I cannot understand how he can go and put out those two 90 minutes after coming home in the middle of the night,” Hellberg said of Morris. “To run that much and play for the team, fight and be in both of the boxes. I cannot understand.

“He flew back Wednesday afternoon/evening, so he was late back. Riley had the same massive trip and putting out a lot of good moments - I think he was brilliant in the first half.

“Then you could almost see that he had those games in his legs. That is what it is. It’s the end of the season, so they push through. Browney, same thing, pushing through in an unwavering manner.

“I didn't know if he could start the game because he had some things before it. But then he just pushed through. What a fighter.”

For Hellberg, while he understands the frustration at Boro’s concerning dip in form at such a crucial stage of the season, he would dismiss any claims that his side are not fighting, or not up for the battle, after just two wins in 11.

He continued: “That’s the main message to everyone out there: this group is fighting unbelievably for the shirt. I think we play unbelievably beautiful football and create loads of opportunities and also almost concede nothing.

“I saw some stats where we had conceded the least in open play - it was just one goal, I think - over the last 20 games in the six top leagues in Europe in terms of open play defending. So we also can pat our back, but then of course you cannot give away two pens.”

Here at TeessideLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Middlesbrough FC coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don't miss out on the latest Boro news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

Your information will be hidden, you'll only ever receive messages from the Teesside Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'Exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice .