Former Middlesbrough striker Noel Whelan believes there is strong possibility the team will miss out on the Championship play-offs and has slammed manager Tony Pulis for his defensive style of play.

Boro's play-off hopes suffered another blow last night as Pulis' side were beaten 1-0 by fellow promotion chasers Bristol City at the Riverside Stadium.

Adam Webster's first-half goal was enough to condemn Boro to a fifth straight defeat, resulting in the players being booed off the pitch at full-time with some supporters chanting for Pulis to be sacked.

Whelan, who made 62 appearances for Middlesbrough during a three-year spell at the Riverside, has criticised Pulis for his defensive tactics and conservative style of play.

"Middlesbrough were poor," Whelan told Sporting Life.

"They’ve got no pace, their passing is slow, they are an ageing side, boring to watch and it does not matter if you can defend a 1-0 lead when you are behind.

"When I’ve been at Middlesbrough, we’ve always had flair players, passing, it’s exciting. To watch that, you feel sorry for the fans.

"I watched it the other night and could have fallen asleep it was that bad, they were that poor. There’s no pace or intensity to their play, it’s very laboured and you won’t win football matches like that."

Boro are now two points outside the play-offs with seven games left to play and Whelan believes there is a strong chance they will miss out on making the top six.

"I think there’s a really strong possibility they will miss out, there’s nothing for me to suggest they are better than Derby or Bristol City."

The Verdict:

Whelan could be right. Middlesbrough have not been good enough under Pulis in recent weeks and five straight defeats is the form of a side battling against relegation not pushing for the play-offs.

After spending most of the season in the top six, to see Boro in this position would have seemed almost unthinkable just a few months ago.

Boro are still in a decent position in the table and there is still time for Pulis to turn things around but he has to do so quickly and I can't see him changing his style of play.