It's fair to say that it's not been the start to the season that Middlesbrough would have originally hoped for in the Championship this term. 

The pressure has been growing on Jonathan Woodgate in charge of Boro, which won't come as a surprise as his side currently occupy a spot in the relegation zone at the moment.

One player that has struggled for form in front of goal is Britt Assombalonga, with the forward only having six goals to his name so far in this year's league campaign.

In a recent interview with Teesside Live, Assombalonga issued an insight into Woodgate's thoughts on their poor performances this term, and is keen to kick-on after the international break.

"He's always positive but we're if we're bad then we're bad and he will let us know,"

"You look at the table and we're down there, there's no hiding from that. The only way we can improve things is by working as hard as we can. We need to keep pushing, take it step by step and focus on the next two games."

The forward went on to admit that the current Middlesbrough squad have faith in Woodgate, and labelled him as 'a great manager'.

"I think everyone here wants to fight for the shirt. Everyone here has got a good mentality, and it definitely helps that the manager has faith in us. We’ve got faith in him, and we just have to keep pushing.

"He’s a great guy, a great manager, and everyone respects him. Everyone wants to work hard for him."

Middlesbrough are next in action after the international break when they take on Hull City in what will be a tough test for Woodgate's side as they look to end their winless run in the Championship.

The Verdict: 

It's no surprise to see that he's still got the backing of the players.

I think it's a case of wrong place, wrong time for Woodgate to be honest, as they haven't been backed financially, so he can only do so much with the current group of players.

The players are the ones who need to be playing to a high-standard, as the majority of this year's squad played their part last season, as Boro narrowly missed out on a top-six finish in the Championship.