Middlesbrough head coach Jonathan Woodgate issues fighting talk as Boro slip towards relegation zone

A 1-0 victory for the Whites extended Boro's grim winless run in the league to nine matches - on a night compounded by news of victories for relegation rivals Wigan and Barnsley, with Boro now only out of the bottom three on goal difference.

Boro could be firmly in the bottom three by the time they host another promotion-chasing side in Nottingham Forest on Monday night.

But despite fates continuing to conspire against Boro, with Ashley Fletcher and George Friend suffering hamstring issues in the game with Leeds, Woodgate took solace in his side's much-improved performance against his former club, which followed pitiful showings against Barnsley and Luton.

Woodgate, whose team have not won in the league since New Year's Day, said: "They are going to be disappointed. I expect them to be disappointed no matter what if you lose games, but they are still there and they are still fighting and they’ll keep on fighting.

“The table’s tight, it’s even tighter now isn’t it, but I concentrate on our team, that’s the best thing to do.”

"It was miles better than the last two games.

“Light and day between the two performances. If we play like that we will be fine because everything was there, work ethic, determination.

"Okay at times on the ball we were poor but I thought we matched them really well. At times the quality wasn’t great, but we need to create chances for the frontmen to score goals.

"We created chances. I wouldn’t say glaring opportunities but we created chances and we have done for most of the season.

"I thought the energy was very good and I thought we matched them for large parts of the game."