Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder has said there will be a few regrets among his Boro squad in the coming days after his side missed out on a play-off place.
Boro's 4-1 defeat on the final day to Preston meant the club had no chance of getting into the top six even if results elsewhere went their way - which they did not in the end. In the end, they finished seventh in the table.
Speaking after the match, Wilder said, via TeessideLive: "There will be a few regrets from players when they put their head on the pillow, if they’ve got anything about them, over the next two or three days."
"It’s quite a difficult one to really get after them because they are the ones that have really turned the season around."
Middlesbrough were 14th in the Championship when Chris Wilder took over in November.
Wilder believes that since he took over, Boro have shown they can be a really good side, but that they have fallen short at the most important stage of the season.
“There was a reason there was a change in management. It wasn’t because, without sounding arrogant, I was available and I might have gone elsewhere. The reason was because the season was drifting and the chairman and the chief executive didn’t want to see it drift. And it didn’t off the back of that." Wilder continued.
“All of sudden we turned it around, got some results, went on a fabulous cup run and had some fantastic memories of the season but there will be a tinge of regret and disappointment.
"At times, we’ve shown we are a really good side but when push comes to shove and we’ve had to come out of this end of the season after the international break, the three losses on the spin at home have really hurt us."
The Verdict
Middlesbrough will no doubt have regrets after coming so close, but yet so far away from a play-off place.
As Wilder detailed, the three back to back home defeats have really hurt them come the end of the campaign.
You can't help but wonder where they would be had Wilder been in charge for the entire season.
One thing is for sure - the club are heading in the right direction with Wilder at the helm.