Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock reveals what he told his team ahead of Peterborough win | OneFootball

Middlesbrough grabbed a vital 2-0 win on Saturday as they beat struggled Peterborough United at the Riverside.

Manager Neil Warnock revealed his pride at his injury-ravaged side’s win over strugglers Peterborough United.

With five of the first-team defenders missing, Boro managed to claim the three points and a clean sheet as they beat Darren Ferguson’s side.

Chances were scarce in this game and it was late on in the game when the deadlock was broken. Paddy McNair was fouled by Posh defender Nathan Thompson in the box and he cooly dispatched the penalty in the 84th minute.

The game was then sealed by academy forward Josh Coburn as he put away a tidy finish. The win drew a lot of praise from the manager, as Warnock told Hartlepool Mail: “I couldn’t fault them, every one of them has been super. They all know they are playing out of position, a lot of them anyway, we have nothing else so I asked them to enjoy the battle.

“I told them ‘Don’t dwell on any mistakes, just get on with it and enjoy it’.

“I thought the crowd were quite patient today too. The majority of fans know. Quite simply we could have had another eight or nine points this season with a bit of luck.”

Warnock is right to praise the players and supporters as a rough run of form before the international break drew criticism from supporters and the media.

He then admitted that by Thursday, because of the injury crisis, he had no idea who he was going to play: “The squad is decimated, it is difficult. That’s life. “We haven’t been able to work with anything. Thursday night I didn’t have a clue what my team was going to be.”

The win leaves Boro just five points off the top six with a big game on Tuesday against strugglers Barnsley.

The Verdict

Warnock is right to praise his side given the circumstances in the lead-up to the game. Boro have been unlucky with players being unavailable and managed to grind out the win in the end.

The key thing for Warnock now and Boro is getting the next three points as they’ve struggled to put a run of form together.

Despite Barnsley’s struggles at the bottom of the table, they improved on Saturday against Reading and it will be a difficult game.