Middlesbrough have endured an unexpectedly torrid campaign to date, and could find themselves playing League One come the next season.

Boro have been particularly disappointing throughout and they currently sit in 19th place in the Championship table, just two points clear of the relegation zone.

Jonathan Woodgate took over as manager at the start of the season, and with the appointment came excitement and intrigue as Boro looked to turn a new leaf having parted ways with Tony Pulis after many supporters grew frustrated with the club's style of play.

With the change came a rather poor start to the season and a number of defensive mistakes that hadn't been seen during the previous campaign.

Woodgate was trying to play expansive football, but in truth didn't have the players to do what he was trying and he soon realised after a run of ten games without a win which included a 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.

The side were giving up far too many chances and were and still are heavily reliant on Paddy McNair having a good game and performing on the day.

Losses to Luton Town and Barnsley in recent weeks showed that they have somewhat stagnated and if they are to stay up, it's unlikely Woodgate will be given as much time in the next season if they were to go on another bad run.

When looking at Boro's squad, they have a number of players who have all scored goals at previous clubs and even at the Riverside however the biggest problem for much of this campaign has been the lack of goals in the squad.

Players such as Britt Assombalonga and Rudy Gestede have been lacklustre in front of net, and for all their hard work are failing to put the ball in the goal. Obviously, it's not as simple as that, but for those two especially, with the pedigree that they've earned in previous seasons in this division, it is particularly surprising to see them so off-form.

This has been the key problem, and Boro have managed to score just 37 goals this season, which is a dismal effort and a main reason why they are down near the bottom of the Championship table.

Woodgate's side have conceded the least out of any of the bottom nine teams which highlights the lack of efficiency in front of goal even more and shows that if they could get their forward players finding the back of the net they could challenge many of the teams in the league.

Many at the club continuously say that what's going on is a work in progress, which of course it is, but to be able to say that you have to see some sort of continuous gradual improvement in the side.

This is the key, and during a strong Christmas period, Boro won four consecutive matches and recorded away victories at West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End.

Woodgate has shown that when the team is full of confidence, they can match any side in the division and that's not an overstatement but what he has to do now is ensure they stay up and then build on the squad and make the changes he sees necessary.

He must be backed, and if he is then there's no reason why this season can't be seen as a big learning curve in the manager's career, and he could well look back on it as a positive that helped shape both the club and himself as they look to show signs of improvement in the coming months.