Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards believes the Blues will be the toughest test his second-placed side have had so far this season.

Boro made a strong start to the season, winning their first four Championship games, however, have since won only one of their last five, losing their first match league match of the campaign 1-0 at Portsmouth just before the international break.

Edwards says the break has been good for his team but he’s not yet seen all those who have been away on international duty.

“The training week has been really positive, been really good, there’s been a good energy around, been really good intensity, good reaction from the game, which is what you want heading into what is a really, really big game, an exciting one for us as well.”

Regarding injuries, he added: “Darragh [Lenihan, ankle] and George [Edmundson, hamstring] are still out, we know they’re a little bit longer.

“But Riley [McGree, also hamstring] has been training now consistently for a couple of weeks, which is great and I think Sontje [Hansen] had a little bit of shoulder while out in Curacao, so we'll see how he rocks up. But other than that, everyone's fine.”

There is a question mark over whether Aidan Morris, a key man in midfield alongside summer Blues target Hayden Hackney, will be able to start having played international football with the US in Colorado on Wednesday and not back at the time Edwards held his press conference.

“That in the end has to come down to me but Aidan is Aidan, so he’s desperate to play all the time, every minute of every game for us and for the US,” he said.

“That will never change with him because that’s just the type of character he is, that’s why we love him.

“But we’ll make decisions. Clearly, I’m not going to be able to talk about what we’re going to do with the team now, but he’s been brilliant for us so far this season.”

Regarding Town, Edwards said: “Obviously a really difficult game. Their squad is as good as anything in the league, obviously Kieran [McKenna]’s a really, really good manager and they provide maybe the toughest test that we’ve had, so far.

“We’ll concentrate on ourselves, but clearly we’ve got to look at them as well. They’re very good, good players all over the pitch.

“They’ve done a fantastic job in recent years and probably after a little bit of a period of still working things out after a lot of change, which I can appreciate, they’re going to be right there.

“So, a really difficult game, but an exciting move for us as well. It’s not going to be hard to get up for this one - Ipswich under the lights at the Riverside on a Friday night, it’s pretty good.”

Reflecting on the defeat to Portsmouth, Edwards reflected: “I think we’re at our best when we play with real intensity and our levels probably just dropped.

“It had been a difficult week. There’s no excuses, but Southampton [1-1 away] and Stoke [0-0 at home] physically were really, really hard games and then the third one of the week, down again to Portsmouth, it was difficult.

“Then giving them the the lead in the way that we did, it allowed them to be able to shut up shop a little bit and then we just didn’t have the intensity on the day to break them down and didn’t show enough.

“You can have all the ball that you want, but then you’ve got to make it happen and we didn’t do that.

“But that’s alright, it’s up to us to be able to learn from it and improve and it probably gives us a little bit of a nice focus again, going into this next block of games.

“We want to keep our resilience, we’re one of the best teams, if not the best, from a defensive point of view, we’ve been really, really good, really solid. The lads have worked incredibly hard.

“But then we want to try and find that balance to the game as well, which is what everyone wants. That’s probably the hardest bit.”

That defensive solidity is illustrated by the Teessiders having conceded only six goals in the league this season, fewer than anyone else in the division, and just one at home, where they remain unbeaten in the Championship.

Edwards wants the Riverside to remain a fortress: “We all want it to be that and that’ll take every one of us, the supporters, staff and the lads themselves that go over the line and do it, and we can all help each other.

“It’ll be a really challenging game, there’s no doubt at times we’re going to have to be really solid, will have to put bodies on the line, we’re gonna have to be really resilient and then we’ve got to try and make them do the same stuff as well, and try and stretch and test them.

“We’re looking forward to that challenge because this would be a really good benchmark, they’re a very, very good team so we’ve got to try and keep that good stuff going and then try and cause them problems at the other end as well.”

In the summer the Blues agreed a £15 million rising to £20 million fee with Boro for 23-year-old midfielder Hackney but the player ultimately opted to remain with his local side.

“It was probably a really testing time for H [Hackney] and he had some big decisions to make,” Edwards continued.

“If I’m being honest, I understood it and it wasn’t a case of me every day badgering him. I understood it and we had to try to let him work through it.

“He showed a lot of maturity during that time and this club clearly means a lot to him and I think he’s shown that with his performances and the fans have shown their love for him as well in return.

“Clearly, there was interest in him because he’s a really good player, but that doesn’t make tomorrow night [anything other than] just another game for him.”

Edwards knows what relegation from the Premier League and re-establishing in the Championship is like having been manager of Luton this time last year.

He says it can be tough, as it was for the Hatters, who eventually went on to be relegated again, but believes the two clubs took varying approaches following their promotions to the top flight.

“It can be, it was difficult for us. I think our situations were different, the same thing happened we both got promoted and then went down, but we probably did things a bit of a different way to them.

“I think a lot of change happened at their place when they got promoted and maybe they were preparing for this, I don't know because I wasn’t obviously a part of what they did, but they were almost ready for this eventuality as well.

“They’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of good players, but like anything, it can affect people. You see the bright lights and are a part of that global league, and everyone loves it and everyone’s giving everything every single week, and it can change mindset a little bit.

“But I’m watching them and I don’t see a real shift in them. I can just see a really good team.”

Photo: Matchday Images

gsoly added 15:46 - Oct 16 Really mature words from Edwards, especially around our adaptation back to Championship life. Fair play, seems a good guy.
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johnwarksshorts added 16:19 - Oct 16 Good Manager.
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ITFC_Singapore added 07:53 - Oct 17 I believe he was at the top of Ashton's shortlist if McKenna had moved on a year or so back.
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