Ben Gibson believes Boro have what it takes to win promotion but isn’t prepared to look beyond today’s home clash with Leeds (12.15pm).
The England Under-21 defender is loving life at the top of the Championship and is relishing the prospect of playing in a Yorkshire derby at the Riverside Stadium.
He said: “We’re at the top now and there’s no clubs with any games in hand on us. It’s up to us to defend that position now.
“If we do what we should do, and what we know we can do, we’ll go on from here and win the league.
“But there’s a hell of a long way to go and we won’t look past Leeds because it’s a massive game. It’s a good opportunity for us to get three points.
“As a Middlesbrough fan, it’s always massive to play against Leeds.
“If I’m selected, it’ll be something I’m really looking forward to. Whatever team the gaffer puts out, I’m sure we’ll let them know in no uncertain terms that it’ll be an aggressive, high-tempo game.
“It’ll be tough – every time we play Leeds it always is. They’re not always nice affairs to watch, but they’re normally tight, tense games. We have to make sure we come out on top.”
Wednesday’s battling 1-1 draw at Birmingham moved Aitor Karanka’s men back to the top of the table, one point ahead of Bournemouth and Derby in second and third respectively.
If Boro can beat Leeds in today’s lunchtime fixture, they’ll open up a four point lead before the day’s other games kick-off at 3pm.
On sitting top of the pile, Gibson said: “It’s fantastic. We’re just in the thick of it – we’re leading the pack at this stage of the season. It’s in our hands.
“It’s good not needing anything from anybody else – we know it’s down to us and what we do.
“I’d rather have it like that. Some people might think there’s more pressure on you when you’re at the top of the table, but I’d much rather be in this position.
“We’ve got good players, a fantastic squad and great staff. The onus is on us to go and take the league away from other people. We can start doing that by going four points ahead on Saturday.”
As a Middlesbrough lad and boyhood Boro fan, Gibson has noticed the feelgood factor is returning to Teesside after a few fallow years.
“You can sense that the town is really buzzing about Middlesbrough at the minute,” he explained.
“The whole focus is on the team pushing for promotion, and you can feel there’s a good feeling and a real buzz around the town just now.
“People think we can achieve something this year, and that’s great. The excitement is back, and if we’re honest, we haven’t really had that feeling for a long time. I can’t really remember it since we’ve come down – it’s never felt as good as this. People really believe that this could be our year, and it’s up to us to make it happen.”
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