THE battle to preserve their Championship status may be the priority, but Tony Mowbray is taking no chances at League Two Burton this afternoon.
Middlesbrough – unbeaten in three festive fixtures – travel to the Midlands today desperate to avoid an FA Cup giant-killing despite a disappointing league campaign that has seen them struggling near the foot of the Championship since the start of the season.
And that means there will be no rest for their big guns – and every chance that transfer window targets Gary O’Neil, David Wheater and Julio Arca will be cup-tied by the end of the weekend. “We will be fielding a very strong and hopefully positive team. We are not in a position to rotate the squad,” Mowbray (pictured above) said.
“If we were top of the league and generally feeling very confident then maybe I could have made a couple of changes without affecting the performance. But that’s not the situation in our case.
“I have sat down to study the way Burton play in the hope of spotting a weakness or two. What I do then is try to play our strengths against their weaknesses. But there won’t be much in the way of changes.”
Inconsistent Burton currently sit 17th in League Two but Mowbray will not be taking the Brewers lightly.
Paul Peschisolido’s men were disappointing in their last outing against Port Vale but have sold out for this tie and believe they have a real opportunity to progress into the fourth round.
Certainly Mowbray feels they have the ability to trouble Boro if his side are below their best.
“Burton have some bright players who like running with the ball and can cause problems. What we have to do is to go there and be very professional and try to get a job done,” he said.
“We know that it’s a small ground and with a full house there will be a big atmosphere. Hopefully we can deal with what Burton have to offer and get a goal or two ourselves and silence the crowd.
“In these games lower league teams always find that extra adrenaline, and that extra yard. That’s why you have to be on top of your game and face it head on, and that the extra quality which hopefully we have will shine through.”
Meanwhile, Mowbray is hopeful that Kevin Thomson’s next return from injury will be a permanent one.
The midfielder was forced to limp out of the New Year’s Day meeting with Leeds after suffering a shin injury that was related to his broken leg. Boro fear he may have suffered nerve damage.
“He played four games on the bounce and came through find and it looked as if he was through it,” Mowbray said.
“We think it’s an issue with the nerves around the injury, rather than the bone, but the boy is obviously in a lot of discomfort.
“I’ve worked with Kevin before and I know personality and he’s not a shirker. We must continue to search every avenue to see if we can get to the bottom of it.
“He should be back in training in the next few days. Hopefully he can then get through four or five games without taking any knocks.”
