RAT, snake and a lone wolf have all been part of the Middlesbrough menagerie in 2025-26.

But no fox in the box.

The rodent and reptile references were employed in derogatory fashion by incensed Boro fans towards Rob Edwards after he jumped ship in November.

Talk of a ‘lone wolf’ analyst – nothing to do with Edwards or Wolves – came into focus on Saturday amid a ‘Spygate 2.0’ row that became the talk of football in the build-up to the Teessiders’ combustible play-off first leg at a raging Riverside.

EQUAL TERMS: Southampton's Caspar Jander and Middlesbrough's Aidan Morris (left) battle for the ball during the Championship play off semi-final first leg encounter at the Riverside Stadium. Picture: Andy Commins/PA

placeholder image — EQUAL TERMS: Southampton's Caspar Jander and Middlesbrough's Aidan Morris (left) battle for the ball during the Championship play off semi-final first leg encounter at the Riverside Stadium. Picture: Andy Commins/PA

Southampton claimed an unnamed individual acted on his own to spy on Boro’s training session on Thursday and was not part of a co-ordinated attempt to cheat by claiming secret information.

That defence, following an EFL charge, seemed as flimsy as Saints’ first-half performance when all Boro needed was their own sneak in front of goal to bring the house down and go a good way towards settling this tie.

Amid all the justified cries of ‘cheat’ directed at Saints and their manager Tonda Eckert – he wore a sheepish look when questioned by the broadcast media about Thursday’s clandestine events before he and the club’s media officer walked out of a subsequent post-match press conference with written journalists – the fact remains this.

Should Boro miss out on promotion, then they will have also cheated themselves, most definitely in the winter window, by not bringing in at least one frontline striker to make the difference where it matters.

Middlesbrough midfielder Aidan Morris evades Southampton rival Cyle Larin during the Sky Bet Championship play off semi-final first leg match at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough. Picture: Andy Commins/PA Wire.

Their staggering numbers in a plethora of games during the season-defining period of the year, especially at home, bear this out.

In seven of their late-season Championship matches at the Riverside, they managed an aggregate of just four goals - despite registering a combined tally of 164 attempts on goal. Forty-two were on target.

Boro’s xG expected goals figure was off the scale in virtually all of them, alongside touches in the opposition box and possession stats and probably several other attacking metrics as well.

One of those games, painfully, was against promotion rivals Millwall and that episode bore comparison with Saturday.

A Middlesbrough fan makes a binoculars gesture during the Sky Bet Championship play off semi-final first leg match at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough. Southampton have been charged with a breach of EFL regulations after being accused of spying on a Boro training session before the play-off match. Picture: Andy Commins/PA Wire.

Unlike the Lions, Saints did not celebrate a win. But it will have felt like one in the circumstances given the battering they endured in the most one-sided first-half of football you could wish to see.

Boro had 37 touches in the opponents’ box, Saints - who headed north on the back of a 19-game unbeaten league run – had none.

The hosts managed 17 goal attempts; the visitors had zilch. Yet the real story - the same old story - was no home goals. Maddeningly, damningly, crushingly.

Boro threw everything at their opponents - right from their arrival when a red inferno of hate greeted Saints as they stepped off their coach. The fury was then stoked up in the stands before the hosts set about those in yellow on the pitch.

Riley McGree, Tommy Conway and Morgan Whittaker were in the mood, while Luke Ayling policed ex-Boro boy Finn Azaz and Dael Fry governed Cyle Larin.

McGree went close and Ayling wasn't far away with a swerving shot. There was no luck for Conway, when his first-time drive rattled the post. But he needed to hit his previous chance - the best one - earlier. He checked and James Bree made a fine saving block.

Saints keeper Daniel Peretz did his bit during the pounding, denying Conway and Matt Targett.

After somehow surviving, Southampton will have been grateful for the break and were better in the second half. Given previous painful events this spring, home supporters were fearing the worst.

The final quarter saw Taylor Harwood-Bellis smack a header against the bar, while substitute Samuel Edozie fired wide on the counter.

The story remained earlier. Now it's onto St Mary's. Most observers would suggest that Southampton's attacking options, quite possibly from the bench, are likely to prove the difference in this belligerent box-office tie. You don't need a spy to work that out.

Middlesbrough: Brynn; Brittain, Ayling, Fry, Malanda, Brittain, Morris, McGree (Browne 68), Targett; Whittaker (Sarmiento 79), Conway, Strelec (Castledine 79). Substitutes unused: Wildsmith, Gilbert, Silvera, Hansen, Ibeh, Hunt.

Southampton: Peretz; Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Manning; Downes (Charles 69), Jander; Fellows (Matsuki 69), Azaz, Scienza (Edozie 86); Larin (Stewart 60). Substitutes unused: Long, Quarshie, Welington, Bragg, Archer.

Referee: F Hallam (Surrey).