Despite the season now being underway, Chris Wilder is still working on his Middlesbrough team and creating a side that is able to compete at the top end of the league this year. 

Boro are yet to get a win this season and as Wilder's side faced Barnsley in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, the boss used it as an opportunity for experimenting.

The game saw Dael Fry and Paddy McNair given their first starts of the season whilst joined by Anfernee Dijksteel forming a back three.

The Boro boss has spoken about his desire to strengthen on the left of the pitch this summer and midweek, Fry played on the left, right and in the centre throughout the game.

Despite losing the tie 1-0, Wilder discussed the versatility and ability to adapt in his side as he told Teesside Live: "Dael can play left and played there a bit during pre-season. Anf can play left and right, and Paddy has played the right tonight and left all last season. They're versatile players, and I thought their play and their attitude was really good.

"It sometimes doesn't help Dael from the middle to get out of defence because it can expose him from a defensive point of view and make him defend one versus one. His strengths are: on the ball he's fabulous, he's totally committed, he didn't lose a header all night...but you also want him to get better at certain aspects.

"We want Anf to get better with the ball too, so that's why he played through the middle. You know what you get with Paddy. We're open to flipping it around, and they might have to do that if we have certain situations to deal with."

 

 

The Verdict: 

Whilst some Middlesbrough fans may have been eager for their side to win Wednesday's cup tie, you can understand why Wilder saw this as an appropriate time to test some things in his side.

It's clear to see players in his side have the ability to adapt which is something that will definitely help the side going forward and can be used to Boro's advantage.

Furthermore, with no new signings expected before Sunday's game against Sheffield United, the ability to adapt will help them in a tough game.

However, given the boss has already identified areas where his defensive players need to strengthen, it would be in the manager's best interests to look at more solid left sided options before the window closes at the end of the month.