Tony Mowbray believes that Middlesbrough still have the ability to be in the Championship play-off mix despite a poor start to the season that culminated in the sacking of Chris Wilder on Monday.

The ex-Sheffield United boss was relieved of his duties at the Riverside Stadium after winning only two of 11 games at the start of the campaign to leave Boro in the bottom three.

Mowbray, who managed Middlesbrough between 2010 and 2013 and is now in charge at Sunderland, expressed sympathy with Wilder but said it was still possible for Boro to fire themselves into contention for the top six.

Middlesbrough are eight points behind sixth-placed Blackburn Rovers with the league table slowly taking shape with just under a quarter of the campaign played.

MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 05: Tony Mowbray, Manager of Sunderland reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Middlesbrough and Sunderland at Riverside Stadium on September 05, 2022 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)

“It’s an emotional rollercoaster, professional football management these days and we all understand that you have to win games,” said Mowbray.

“I would have looked at Chris Wilder and team and players that they had, everybody would have had Middlesbrough up in the top six competing.

“What I would say is that they still very much could do that because if you look at third bottom to sixth top is only five or six points.

“The league is really, really congested and a win can catapult you up into the top six, and a defeat can drop you down to the bottom half of the table.”

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray makes Middlesbrough prediction after Chris Wilder sacking