Boro can be sprint stars in the final straight of the Championship promotion race.
That’s the upbeat message from Grant Leadbitter as Aitor Karanka’s side prepare for a decisive seven-game burst of final fixtures.
Boro are currently third and behind Watford in the second automatic promotion spot on goal difference alone.
And when action resumes after the international break there will be a high-stakes chase to finish in the top two.
“We’ve got this break then we have a bit of a sprint,” said the industrious midfielder.
“The last seven games come thick and fast in the space of four weeks and we have to make sure we come out of the block quickly when we start again.
“It’s going to be good, it’s going to be exciting, going to be intense right to the end.
“There’s a lot of points still up for grabs and we have to make sure we take as many of those points as we can.
“You can sure that we will all be looking forward to those game and we will all be prepared for those games.”
Boro finished their “Week of Destiny” on a bum note as they followed wins over Ipswich and Derby with a bruising 3-0 defeat at rivals Bournemouth.
The two-week international break gives them time to ease tired muscles and bumps and bruises and prepare tactically for the campaign’s climax.
But Leadbitter admits for all the positives, the interruption leaves him frustrated.
“For me the break hasn’t really come at a good time at all,” he said. “I’d rather have played this week.
“Whenever we lose I want to play the next day to put it right.
“That said, with no games we have the chance to train well, train hard, train properly.
“The manager loves working with the players on the training pitch and you don’t always get that chance when have three games in a week.
“So we will benefit from that and I’m absolutely certain we will come back raring to go.”
Boro have made a habit this season of roaring out of international breaks in fine form and the skipper is sure they will do so again when they host Wigan then go to rivals Watford over the Easter weekend.
“Bouncing back is what we have done well this year,” he said. “Since August we haven’t lost two games in a row and we will be looking to make sure we keep up that record.
“And we have always come back well after the breaks.
“We have good training, solid, intense training. There’s no jolly ups in a break, just good hard work on the training pitch,
“We’re confident we can bounce back but we know we have to perform better than we did at Bournemouth.
“And it is still in our hands. Look, there’s seven games to go, there will be a lot more twists and turns next week, the week after and all the way to the end because that’s what this league is like.
“But we are confident we will still be there at the end, that we can win games and take points and be up there fighting for promotion at the end.
“We are a point off top with seven games to go... we’ll take that. We’re in a good place, We’re ready for it.”
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