Neil Warnock reveals Middlesbrough fitness concerns and provides Harold Moukoudi update ahead of Stoke City clash

Moukoudi, who is on loan from St-Etienne, missed last weekend’s 3-0 defeat by Swansea City through illness but could feature at the bet365 Stadium.

A couple of Boro players have missed parts of training with knocks this week, yet Warnock didn’t want to give too much away ahead of his first game in charge.

When asked about Moukoudi and how the team is shaping up, Warnock said: “He’s training. We’ve had a couple of knocks where lads haven’t trained but I won’t go into detail on that.

“I’m still optimistic they’ll be available but we’re leaving a couple of lads until the last minute and will make a decision before we travel down.”

Warnock, who replaced Jonathan Woodgate as Boro boss on Tuesday, now has eight games in the space of 26 days to try and keep the Teessiders in the Championship.

The 71-year-old Yorkshireman knows he’ll need everyone to play their part over the next four weeks and hasn’t wasted any time in getting to know his new players.

"I know quite a few of the players,” Warnock added “I've tried to sign a few of them over the years so I've had a bit of banter with one or two about what a lucky escape I had.

"And it's been nice for me to have a new group really, players who are trying to impress me.

"I try to look at all the players, even those that maybe haven't been so frequently in the team, because I am going to give them a chance and we are going to need everybody in these last eight games.

"Fitness levels are very good but I think every club in the Championship knows they could be a little bit more and we will be working very hard on that, especially with the heat and a lot of games coming up.”