Any outside chances Middlesbrough had of winning automatic promotion appeared to end on Saturday as they were beaten 2-1 at home to Brentford.

The focus instead will be on keeping a play-off spot, with the chasing pack closing in on the Teesside outfit.

Therefore, you have to say that the defeat to the Bees was a major setback for Tony Pulis and his side, with many fans pointing the finger at the manager for the loss.

His decision to take off striker Britt Assombalonga for George Friend gave the visitors all the attacking momentum and it allowed them to push Boro back and have all the pressure.

And, it would have been a familiar feeling for the former Nottingham Forest man, who must believe that he isn't completely trusted by the manager.

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That's because Assombalonga has only played the full 90 minutes three times in the league since October.

When you consider that he has ten goals for the campaign, making him comfortably Boro's top scorer, he has every right to be annoyed at that.

Obviously, you can understand Pulis' reasons for making the decision. He is a defensive coach and the number of goals they've conceded proves he knows what he's doing in that sense.

However, if Boro are to make this a promotion-winning season then he needs to slightly adapt his style - and that means Assombalonga needs to be trusted more.

He's scoring goals in the limited minutes he's getting and if Boro are to go up Pulis will be relying on the 26-year-old who should be an integral part of this team.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.