A run of four games without a win, including three successive defeats, has left Middlesbrough nervously looking over their shoulder as the chasing play-off pack close in.

Tony Pulis' side are only one point above seventh place, although they do have a game in hand on most of the sides below them.

Nevertheless, Boro are a side with no momentum now and they have an extremely tough task next up when they host leaders Norwich.

Therefore, fans are understandably anxious that they won't even make the play-offs this season, something that seemed highly unlikely for most of the season.

You could argue that the break has come at the right time though and Pulis will have almost two weeks to work with most of his squad on the training pitch and he needs to start working on how his team can change.

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Here we look at TWO tweaks the ex-West Brom boss has to consider moving forward...

Playing two up front

Boro are too defensive, there's no way of getting away from that.

We know that Pulis isn't going to suddenly transform into a coach that will go all-out but there's nowhere near a balance right now.

They need to have more of an attacking threat and that means playing two up front, with Britt Assombalonga and Jordan Hugill having the potential to be a decent partnership, with Ashley Fletcher another option.

Getting more pace into the side

Another worry for Boro is just how predictable they are going forward.

They have very little flair and imagination and they're a tough watch, so you have to feel sympathy with the fans.

Again, Pulis needs to find the balance between being defensively responsible and giving players freedom and it's not there at the moment.

Quite why Rajiv van La Parra's move hasn't worked we don't know but he and the likes of Marcus Tavernier would bring pace and dynamism to a side lacking any spark.