Middlesbrough: Missing play-offs would be ‘complete failure’ for Boro

It was a busy January on the transfer front with Morgan Whitaker and George Edmundson arriving on permanent deals while Mark Travers, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ryan Giles and Samuel Iling-Junior signed loan agreements.

Heading out of The Riverside were Isaiah Jones, Micah Hamilton, Matt Clarke, Alex Gilbert, Lukas Engel, Sammy Silvera, Mathew Hoppe and for a club record fee of £22.5 million, top scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath.

So are the club in a stronger position going in to the final 16 games of the season?

Concerns revolve around questions at both ends of the pitch.

Can Iheanacho weigh in with enough goals to justify the decision to let Latte Lath go to Atlanta United and, if not, will Tommy Conway be able to put a sustained run of starts together after his recent injury problems?

Whittaker and Finn Azaz showed signs against Sunderland that the relationship they developed at Plymouth can be rekindled, but behind them is Boro’s failure to bring in another central midfielder asking too much of Aidan Morris?

The suspicion remains that Carrick’s team lacks the kind of midfield bite mongrel Championship sides need if they aren’t to be bullied out of games they might otherwise win.

Then there’s the defence. Boro’s attack is the second best in the division but their defence is mid-table. The 39 goals they’ve conceded leaves them below not just the promotion chasers Leeds United, Burnley, Sunderland and Sheffield United but also Millwall, Bristol City and Stoke City, among others.