Middlesbrough have five upcoming friendlies after returning to Teesside from Portugal on Sunday
Rob Edwards hopes his Middlesbrough side can build on their early summer progress in the next domestic friendlies, as he aims to make a good first impression with supporters.
Edwards is presently preparing his new squad for the next season, having taken over as Boro manager from Michael Carrick this summer. After a little more than a week of working with his new players on home turf, Edwards was able to spend a week in close quarters with Boro players last week during a warm-weather training camp in Lisbon.
Boro are now back on Teesside, preparing for their domestic friendly schedule, which begins on Saturday away at Mansfield Town and includes games against Bradford City, Rangers, Hartlepool United, and Deportivo La Coruna. The new Boro head coach has already cautioned that there may be teething problems as he tries to install his own ideas on the group. Despite this, he is heartened by the first signs of preseason.
Edwards told the club website after the warm-weather training camp ended on Saturday: “Portugal was a really excellent week. Pre-season is about improving fitness, increasing organisation and understanding, and fostering a sense of community and cohesiveness within the team.
“I believe we’ve checked all of those boxes. It was beneficial for them to get to know us better and understand what we expect from them and who we will be. Now we’re looking forward to returning and playing some games in front of the crowd. That is ultimately who we are doing this for. We want to give some good performances and make a nice first impression.
“That is crucial. As I’ve previously stated, it’s all well and good to talk a good game; now we must actually deliver. Everyone recognizes that there is a lot going on during the preseason, and there may be adjustments, which causes games to lack rhythm. But the hope is that fans will be able to witness some of those shoots and things that are coming up on those topics that we’ve been discussing a lot.”
The week in Portugal concluded with a closed-door training game against Portuguese top-tier team CD Santa Clara, who finished fifth last season and qualified for the Europa Conference League. During the 1-0 setback, Edwards had the opportunity to examine 23 players in detail, and he was generally happy with what he found.
He said, “It was a great, contested game. Of course, we wanted to create a winning environment and culture right away, so there is unhappiness with the outcome. However, given our performance, such outcome was not expected. There were many positives to take.
“We changed the shape and personnel at halftime, and the boys put in a lot of effort and aggression; it was feisty, which I enjoyed. We probably needed more quality and control, especially in the second half. But it will arrive. You could see what we had been working on during training.
“As soon as we lost the ball, the guys reacted effectively and played exceptionally well in their duels. There is a lot of nice stuff we can learn from this and improve on. I’m just seeking for better now. We aspire to create a winning environment and culture. I believe the players have really bought in, therefore the aim now is to do more, better, and drive the standards even higher.”
Boro traveled back to Teesside on Sunday and returned to Rockliffe on Tuesday to resume their preparations for the new season. They will play their first public domestic friendly on Saturday, travelling to League Two side Mansfield Town.
Boro’s pre-season schedule in full
Saturday, July 19, 3 pm – Mansfield Town (A)
Wednesday, July 23, 7 pm – Bradford City (A)
Saturday, July 26, 2 pm – Rangers (A)
Wednesday, July 30, 7 pm – Hartlepool United
Saturday, August 2, 3 pm – Deportivo La Coruna (H)
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