EFL pundit delivers verdict on Neil Warnock's Middlesbrough, manager watches West Brom defeat plus Dael Fry's admission

We wrap up some of the latest Boro-related news stories from the weekend.

Pundit delivers verdict on Neil Warnock’s Boro

Saturday’s draw at Brentford means Boro have now kept six clean sheets in seven games and have the best defensive record in the Championship.

Goals have been a problem, though, with the Teessiders scoring just nine times in 11 league games so far.

When assessing Boro’s draw with Brentford, former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips told the EFL’s highlights show on Quest: “Middlesbrough are a typical Neil Warnock team.

“They are well drilled, organised, every player knows what they’re doing, and it’s no surprise they have the best defensive record in the league”

“Scoring has been there problem”

Fry still looking to improve

One of the reasons Boro have been so good at the back this season is the resurgence of Dael Fry.

The 23-year-old centre-back looks back to his best after a challenging 2019/20 campaign, with Warnock calling him the best defender in the league.

Yet Fry still wants to be more of a threat in the opposition’s box and add more goals to his game, especially after missing a couple of chances at Blackburn last week.

“That's something I want to add to my game," Fry told BBC Tees when asked about scoring goals.

"I'm a big lad, I'm strong. When I'm coming up I want defenders to be like 'we've got to mark him, he's going to score'.

"I'm only young but that's something I want to add to my game and I'm going to work on that and hopefully I can get a few goals."

Under-23s beaten by West Brom

Finally, Boro’s under-23 side suffered their second league defeat of the season on Sunday.

Graeme Lee’s team were beaten 1-0 by West Brom at Heritage Park after conceding in the 70th minute.

Nathan Wood and Sam Folarin both featured for Boro who were watched by first-team manager Warnock.

The Teessiders remain top of Premier League 2, Division 2, despite the result.

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