Discovery+ and Quest pundit Jobi McAnuff believes that Middlesbrough will be competing at the top end of the Championship in the short to medium term under Chris Wilder.

Boro have won their last two on the bounce to fuel belief that Wilder is the man to lead them back to the promised land.

Wilder is widely admired in the EFL for the incredible job he did in taking Sheffield United from League One to a ninth placed finish in the Premier League in just four seasons. With his reputation enhanced further by the style of play he was able to implement successfully in that time.

Neil Warnock steadied the ship brilliantly from being threatened by relegation to League One at the back end of 2019/20 to keeping top six hopes alive before his dismissal in early November.

The gap is currently just five points between Boro and the play-offs places, a stretch that could be significantly cut by the time we emerge out of the busy Christmas period.

When asked if Wilder will lead Boro back to the Premier League, Jobi McAnuff exclusively told Football League World:

"He has a really good track record, again I think it'll come back down to recruitment. He plays a different brand of football.

"You only have to put a run of wins together wherever you are in the table, and that's the beauty of the league, you put two, three, four wins together on the bounce and you can be in contention.

 

 

"I wouldn't be surprised, being given a little bit of time, with the right recruitment in January, to see Middlesbrough be one of those teams who could potentially push for the play-offs this season. If not, I don't see why Chris Wilder can't get them up and around it next season."

It is an exciting time to be a Boro supporter, in looking at what Wilder achieved at Sheffield United and how he has started in the dugout, longer term it feels as if Wilder has the best chance of anyone to take the club back to the Premier League.