After an unbeaten January the season steps up a gear as Boro face up to February #Fixturebomb.
Boro have had a great January. They were unbeaten, conceded just one goal, saw off the the Premier League champions, stepped up the promotion pace with three wins and a draw and bagged a manager and player of the month double.
Yet the table is tighter than ever. Just one point now separates the top three with the rest of the top six just behind and although the pressure is mounting, no one has yet shown any signs of cracking. But something has to give soon.
There has been much pre-emptive worrying among the instinctively nervous on Teesside about Boro’s “Week of Destiny” in March as Aitor’s Army take on Ipswich at home then make tricky trips to Derby and Bournemouth in quick succession.
But the shape of the table could change radically long before then.
February brings a fixture flurry that should see gaps appear in the table. Boro are playing seven games in 21 games - a flurry branded a ‘fixturebomb’ - with most of their rivals playing at least six.
That will be a physically gruelling programme but on paper Boro’s looks relatively inviting - Charlton, Blackpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Bolton, Sheff Wed - while many of the other teams in the promotion pack must face each other in tough tussles.
A string of summit six pointers loom for other members of the cut-throat scrum, starting with Bournemouth against Derby on Tuesday, and those games must dent Boro’s chief rivals.
Teams in the pack will drop points. Some will slip up. Others like Watford and Norwich play several rivals and can drag their way back into it.
By the end a pivotal month of crunch clashes the shape at the sharp end will be a lot clearer.
And with the prospect of a draining slog on heavy pitches every squad will be tested. We've been saying for months now that cracks will appear in Brentford and Bournemouth with have smaller squads with fewer options and are more at risk from injuries and suspensions. That that is going to happen it will be now.
Likewise, if the strengths of the squad at Boro is going to tell, it will be now. Karanka has carefully constructed a solid collection of physically and mentally strong and versatile players with at least two for every position and several capable of multi-tasking across key areas.
And they have all been drilled meticulously in the shape and system.
They have been rotated throughout the season and are used to slotting in where and when needed and are used to being rested. Every player in the squad is tune with that collective ideology.
We have long said there will come a point in the campaign when squad size, depth, ability and the number of options will impact on the table and that other more fragile teams will start to show cracks.
If that is going to happen it will be in February.
It is a massive month for Boro. Bring it on.
Here’s the February fixtures. How do you see the table on March 1?
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