Middlesbrough test a perfect one for Leeds United, says boss Heckingbottom

The snow forced Leeds United’s players off their outdoor training pitches this week but for all the impact on the club’s preparation, a postponement of tonight’s game at Middlesbrough would have come at an unwelcome time.

Leeds became aware of the threat to the fixture on Wednesday morning and were awaiting a final decision last night but Paul Heckingbottom saw no benefit in a last-minute cancellation. His players have the small but much-needed tailwind of a first win in 11 games behind them and were preparing for back-to-back games against Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers, another critical juncture in a season full of them.

Boro, for their part, have been grafting to avoid calling off a match which Sky Sports are due to televise and more than 25,000 have paid to attend.

The Riverside pitch is expected to be playable after constant work to clear it but heavy snow has caused chaos on the local road network, leading to discussions between police and local council officials over whether the game should be called off.

Heckingbottom, whose squad have trained twice on their indoor 3G surface at Thorp Arch this week, said he wanted the game to kick off as planned, preceding a meeting with Championship leaders Wolves next Wednesday.

“It’s on and we’re preparing for it as is,” United’s head coach said. “We’ve had lots of big games against teams above us in the league and these are two more. They’re really big games for us, these next two coming up, and we want them on. We want to be playing these sides.”

United’s ground staff kept the main outdoor pitches at Thorp Arch covered as the weather turned but relentless snow showers prevented Heckingbottom’s players from training on grass as the cold began to bite.

“We’ve not been affected too much but at every opportunity I’d always want the players on the grass,” he said. “I can demand a bit more from them there because it’s realistic and it’s what we play on.

“I’d rather not be chopping and changing surfaces because you can aggravate old injuries. The grass plays the same as it does on a Saturday so whilst it’s good to have it (an artificial pitch), it is only when it’s needed.”

The fixation on the ‘Beast from the East’, the cold front blowing in from Siberia, and the possibility of a postponement has distracted attention from how seriously tonight’s fixture matters. Middlesbrough will move into the Championship’s top six if they win. Leeds, should the result go their way, would be three points behind Sheffield United, the club with a tentative hold on the last play-off place. There is scope for Leeds and Boro to crank up the pressure on rival teams, and on each other.

Heckingbottom, who weather-permitting takes charge of his fifth game this evening, insisted the chance to create tension elsewhere was not on his mind. “We’re not thinking that way at all,” he said. “It sounds boring but this is literally the next game. Whoever’s in front of us, we prepare for that and try to win it.

“I said on Saturday that while people are asking me about this season and the play-offs then great because we want to be playing for things as long as possible. But it’s just the team in front of us – can we beat them?

“We want to be up there and we want to be above these sides. To get there you have to improve. Each game we’ve played has been a barometer of where we’re at. When we come out of these games we’ll know how far away we are.”

Heckingbottom was encouraged during last weekend’s 1-0 win over Brentford by Leeds’ defensive shape and their discipline at the back, limiting Dean Smith’s side to a handful of chances holding on to a first-half goal from Liam Cooper. The result marked a first victory since Boxing Day and a first under Heckingbottom.

Before his appointment and in the immediate aftermath of it, Leeds were constrained by costly errors at the back but Heckingbottom said: “The manner of the performance against Brentford showed a lot of what we’ve been working on. I want us to be a lot more resilient without the ball and I want us to know how to win games by nullifying the opposition, as well as being good with the ball.

“When I look back at results, Leeds have won lots of games by playing well but lost lots of games by playing poorly and being easy to play against. We want to maintain the element of us being good with the ball but being able to control games when the opposition’s got it.”

Middlesbrough sought the same shift towards consistency when they sacked Garry Monk before Christmas and appointed Tony Pulis in place of him.

Pulis has a certain reputation in the game, unapologetic about his pragmatic style of management, but he has won promotion from the Championship previously and spent years in the Premier League before West Bromwich Albion dismissed him in November.

Boro, during his short time as manager, have been mixed; steady but still nowhere near the spectacular level which their summer investment promised. “Results have been more consistent,” Heckingbottom said. “I wouldn’t say they’ve significantly improved or got significantly worse but they’ve been more consistent.

“There have been less surprises, they’ve ground out results and they’ve moved up the table to a strong position. We know it’ll be tough whichever 11 he puts out. They pose threats from all different angles and we have to be guarded against that but I know the majority of the players up there really well in terms of their capabilities. I know all about them.”