Kim Hellberg eyes Wembley as Middlesbrough boss makes Hayden Hackney admission

Kim Hellberg wants to repay Middlesbrough fans for the support he has received throughout his first season on Teesside by guiding the club to Wembley in the Championship play-off final.

After falling narrowly short in their bid for automatic promotion, Hellberg’s side battled their way to a goalless draw in the first leg of their play-off semi-final tie against Southampton and will hope to complete the job with a win on the south coast on Tuesday night. Boro’s away record should offer some cause for optimism after they were beaten in just five of their 23 games on the road during the regular season and they have lost just one of their last ten away fixtures.

However, the size of the task facing them is all too clear to see after the Saints’ draw on Teesside on Saturday lunchtime ensured they extended their unbeaten run to 20 games and they will be slight favourites going into the second leg. Hellberg remained defiant and revealed his determination to lead Boro to Wembley and give their supporters a big day out on the biggest stage English football has to offer.

He told BBC Tees Sport: “That’s everything of course. I think you could see how much the game meant to everyone, the supporters. Like I said before, I was given an unbelievable reception here from everyone and I just wanted to try and give back as much as possible together with the players. They’re fighting very hard to try and do it so we are looking forward to the opportunity to try and take it to the final.

“It has been at a level that has been of the highest level. I think the reception in the stadium was different from everything we have experienced and like I said, I will take that with me, a memory I will always be thankful for. They have been unbelievable the whole season and I am very proud of them and how they have done everything they could for us to try and win the game. I wish we had won the game on Saturday to get an even better result because they and we deserve it. Now we go with what we have and we will do everything we can to win.”

‘Preparing for the final’

Hellberg has confirmed Boro captain Hayden Hackney will miss the game as he continues to battle his way back towards full fitness from a calf injury. There were high hopes the academy graduate could feature in Saturday’s first leg as he nears a return from the injury that has kept him on the sidelines since a home draw with Bristol City over two months ago. However, Hellberg has stressed the midfielder will keep his focus on being fit for what could lie ahead if his side are successful during the second leg of their clash with the Saints. He said: “Hayden is preparing for the final. He will not be ready for this one but I think he will be ready for the final.”

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