Ryan Shotton has said that Middlesbrough must 'change their mindset' if they're to avoid relegation this term.

A 1-0 defeat against Barnsley at the weekend saw the Teessiders drop to within three points of the bottom three as the season hits the business end.

Jonathan Woodgate's side are on a run of 10 games without a win in all competitions, and according to Shotton, they face a challenge to compete with the sides around them who are better equipped for the challenge ahead.

As quoted by Teesside Live, Shotton said: “Our squad is good enough. We have the ability. We have the experience.

“I don’t think that is the question really though. It’s a mentality thing. You need to know how to fight.

“Barnsley have been in this kind of situation a few times over the last few years. They know how to get out of it.

“Wigan are the same. They have been here a few times and know what it is like to face that relegation pressure.

“But we haven’t. Boro have spent most of the last few years in the play-offs and pushing for promotion.

“This is the first time we have had to switch our mindset to ‘we are right in this’ and learn that battling comes first.

“We have to rewire ourselves completely for the next three months to deal with a different situation.

“If we stay up - when we stay up - we can look to the summer and see where we can improve and how to get back to the right end of the table but right now we have to change our mind set.

“We have three months to get out of it, three months to rewire the system, change the mindset and do what is required to get out of it.”

Can you name these former Middlesbrough players based on their former clubs? Have a go!

The verdict

If there was any question over Middlesbrough's battle to avoid relegation, we now have an answer.

The Teessiders picked up just one point from three fixtures against the Championship's bottom three, meaning that they face an uphill battle in the coming weeks.

Next up is Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, which means that Jonathan Woodgate's side will need to pull some big results out of the bag if they're to half their current slide.