Middlesbrough boss Jonathan Woodgate delivers frank assessment ahead of Preston clash

Boro slipped to 19th in the table following the weekend’s results but have the chance to bounce back when they host Preston North End on Tuesday night.

Woodgate didn’t gloss over Saturday’s performance which he described as ‘terrible’ and ‘unacceptable’ and has called for a response against the Lillywhites.

“They owe everyone,” said Woodgate when asked if his players owe the fans a reaction. “They owe themselves, their families, the supporters and like I said before, we need to play well to get supporters through the gates.

“If we don’t play well supporters won’t come, a lot of the die hards will but we need to get more fans into the stadium by playing well and by winning games.”

Woodgate also admitted that he must learn from Saturday’s defeat, ten games into his role as Boro head coach.

“It’s a learning curve, especially for me, for my players as well, I haven’t been in this position before where I’ve lost like that but the reaction is the biggest thing.

“You can talk all you want but my players need to go out there and deliver on Tuesday.”

Boro have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the game against Preston, with Hayden Coulson, George Friend and Rudy Gestede still sidelined.

Alex Neil’s side sit fifth in the table after nine league games this term.