Middlesbrough managed to restore some of their credibility as play-off contenders on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Derby County. The result at Pride Park marked the end of a miserable run of nine games without a victory for Boro and gave a much-needed boost to our promotion ambitions.

Curtis Main made the three points ours with an unstoppable shot in the 80^th minute after a perfect Barry Robson pass. The former Darlington striker has made a string of impressive appearances from the bench this season and the nineteen-year-old is definitely one to watch for the future. Jason Steele did his fair share of work at the other end of the pitch, keeping out a number of Derby goal-scoring threats to preserve our clean sheet. The final outcome of the match and the inclusion of Faris Haroun in the team, for the first time in eight games, was no coincidence at all. The last time the Belgian midfielder played was also the last time Boro won, on March 6 against Barnsley.  The energy and work rate he offers has been missed recently and his return from a hamstring injury will stand us in good stead for the concluding three fixtures.

Boro have crept even closer to those coveted play-off spots with the win, thanks to results elsewhere going slightly in our favour. Promotion rivals Brighton were hit for six away to West Ham and Birmingham dropped points in a 2-2 draw with struggling Bristol City. The only real problem was Cardiff City winning again, keeping them two points adrift of us. It looks like it will be battle between the Bluebirds, Boro or Brighton for that final sixth play-off spot and you would think we are all in with a good shout.

Cardiff obviously hold all the cards at the moment but with tough home games against Derby and Leeds to contest, they could quite easily drop points. Brighton have slightly easier fixtures in the form of Watford and Barnsley, but a home clash with fourth-placed Birmingham next weekend will be crucial. Boro are quite lucky as they have recently relegated Doncaster Rovers to play at the Riverside on Tuesday night. Doncaster were doomed to League One on Saturday, following a remarkable game with fellow relegation candidates Portsmouth. The home side led 3-2 in the 90^th minute but two goals in added time gave Pompey the win. Morale will be at an all time low for Donny and we need to capitalise on this, inflicting further pain to the Championship’s bottom club.

Our biggest test, arguably of the season, will be at the weekend when second-placed Southampton are the visitors. The Saints, who are aiming for the league title, well and truly turned us over at St Mary’s in October so if we somehow got a result then the boost for our morale and play-off chances would be huge.

In a league like ours, morale and team spirit are going to be the deciding factor during these final few fixtures. Brighton boss Gus Poyet will need to lift his side after their crushing 6-0 defeat whereas Cardiff are in great form and full of confidence, which is worrying. It was obvious that morale has been an issue at Boro, with the general consensus amongst club and fans alike being that our play-off hopes were almost over. The team were leaving the field after 90 minutes with their heads down, whilst giving a half-hearted acknowledgment to the fans for their continued excellent support, especially evident at Hull last week. This was a huge contrast on Saturday at Pride Park when Boro were full of life and must have felt like a promotion-pushing side again, which we will hopefully carry into Tuesday’s game.

Boro went on a run of four straight wins during the final games of last season, largely down to high morale under Tony Mowbray’s influence. We finished with a convincing 3-0 win over Tuesday’s visitors Doncaster on the final day of the season. It meant that Boro crept into the top half of the league on goal difference, having spent part of the season in the relegation places. This was a great end to a poor season.

Our just rewards for having a strong season this time round would be to repeat last season’s final fixture form. The difference this year being that we creep into the play-off positions, rather than just the top half. I’m unsure as to whether my nerves can take the stress and pressure that is bound to come over the next couple of weeks but it is going to be a thrilling climax, provided we fans have a little blind faith.

With one win down there are just three to go. Pride is restored, morale is lifted and we are still in with a shout. Up the Boro.

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