Former Sunderland and England striker Kevin Phillips has suggested that it is only a matter of time before either one of Britt Assombalonga or Chuba Akpom start firing in front of goal.

Middlesbrough secured another important point by holding Brentford to a goalless draw on Saturday, which saw Neil Warnock’s side extend their unbeaten run in the league to ten matches since their opening day defeat at Watford. That leaves them just one point and one place outside the play-off places.

Boro have now conceded just five goals in their opening 11 league matches, which is the best record in the entire division. However, they have yet to get firing at the other with back-to-back goalless draws meaning they have scored just nine league goals to pick up their 18 points so far this term. Akpom and Assombalonga have so far only managed to score three league goals between them.

Middlesbrough quiz: Can you name the club’s top goalscorer from the last 13 seasons?

However, speaking on EFL on Quest, Phillips revealed that he is backing Middlesbrough to start seeing more from the front two as the season progresses, and suggested that if they can get firing in the last third it could help Boro really push for promotion.

He said: “It’s typical Neil Warnock they are well drilled every player knows what they are doing it’s no coincidence they’ve got the best defensive record in the league. It’s just scoring has probably been their problem.”

He continued: “Every player knows their job, and it’s just scoring at the other end. If they get Akpom or Assombalonga, who as we know can score goals at this level, (scoring) who knows where they could end up.

“I’m sure they will, I’m sure they certainly will it’s only a matter of time before these players (get going) you don’t keep good players down.”

The verdict

Middlesbrough would have been hoping to get more out of Assombalonga and Akpom in the opening weeks of the season, with the pair only averaging 1.6 and 0.9 shots per game respectively during the first 11 matches of the campaign. That means that Warnock’s side will have to find a way to get them more chances in the final third.

However, Assombalonga has missed four big chances in front of goal so far this term (Sofascore), while Akpom himself has also missed three big chances (Sofascore). Those are the sorts of moments that can make the difference for a side chasing the top six and Boro will need the pair to start converting such opportunities.

Considering they are still getting chances in the last third, Phillips is probably right to suggest that eventually one of them will start scoring more often. In the end that will probably make the difference between whether Warnock can guide them into the top six or not.