'It's not like with Sheffield Wednesday and United': Neil Warnock opens up on his first two weeks at Middlesbrough

The straight-talking Yorkshireman put his reputation on the line yet again by taking charge of the Teessiders last month, tasked with reviving a squad which is low on confidence and battling to avoid Championship relegation.

Warnock’s reign started almost perfectly with a 2-0 win at relegation rivals Stoke, yet back-to-back defeats have since left Boro in the bottom three ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Millwall.

With five games remaining, the situation is beginning to look increasingly bleak for the Teessiders, yet many supporters would agree Warnock is their best hope.

Since taking over from Jonathan Woodgate a fortnight ago, Warnock's no-nonsense approach has been praised by fans – most notably when dealing with Rudy Gestede after the striker declined to sign a short-term contract extension.

Warnock was also spotted cycling around Hurworth on Monday morning when some passers-by showed their appreciation, filming the Boro boss while driving past on a car journey.

“It was an electric bike, I need that for the hills,” said Warnock when asked about the incident during his pre-match press conference via Zoom.

“I did about 38km yesterday and I really enjoyed it, you can get suffocated if you're not careful so you’ve got to just calm down and play it by ear.

“The countryside around here is just unbelievable so it was great to get a few miles in.”

Warnock will have needed some time to clear his head after the Teessiders’ last two results, especially the last-minute defeat at Hull.

It’s been repeatedly pointed out by Warnock that Boro have assembled an unbalanced squad which lacks natural leaders and are the lowest scorers in the division.

Yet the Boro boss does believe there is plenty of ability at Rockliffe and isn’t regretting taking on the challenge.

“It’s a wonderful club, cricky I’ve only been here a few weeks but I’m amazed at the club if I’m honest, there’s no expense being spared anywhere here,” Warnock later told BBC Tees.

“I can see even on my bike ride to see genuine supporters, I’m not sure about the camera when riding my bike in the car but they meant well.

“The people I’ve spoken to are really good because that is the area isn’t it, they are all Middlesbrough fans, it’s not like the Sheffield city where one’s red and one’s blue.

“This is all Middlesbrough, everybody you see is Middlesbrough. You can see how important it is and I think the players realise that and they just have to come up with the answers.”

So does Warnock still think this is the most difficult job he’s faced?

“I’ll tell you at the end of the season,” he replied when asked that very question. “At the moment I’ve just got to focus on these five games and do the best I can.

“The fans not being there, they’ve got to be even more frustrated and I’ve got to try and make sure when they do come back we’re in the Championship.”