Middlesbrough boss Jonathan Woodgate reveals what he said to players after West Brom defeat

An 82nd-minute winner from Baggies substitute Hal Robson-Kanu gave the visitors all three points after an end-to-end affair at the Riverside Stadium, a result which saw the Teessiders drop to 21st in the table, one point above the relegation zone.

Yet Woodgate, who criticised his players following their defeat to Birmingham last time out, praised his side for their reaction.

“I thought we played really well,” said Woodgate after the match. “I thought we created the best chances, I thought their keeper played well, I can’t remember a save really that Darren (Randolph) had to make.

“Ok they dominated possession and are a really good team and will go up this season. Like I say we created the best chances of the game but failed to put it in the back of the net.”

When asked about the mood in the dressing room after West Brom’s late winner, Woodgate added: “What I said to the players in the dressing room was keep your heads up, stay positive like I am because if we play like that we’ll win games of football, it’s the simple message I said to them.

“I don’t want chins on the floor, I want to see you up beat and we go again tomorrow and we play Huddersfield on Wednesday which we look forward to because if we perform like that we’ll do really well.”