Making his debut for Middlesbrough is a moment that will live with Aynsley Pears for the rest of his life.

A boyhood Boro fan with an even bigger connection to the club thanks to dad Stephen’s time as a player and a coach, Aynsley worked hard from the age of eight to pave his own path to the Boro first-team. His debut eventually came against Crewe Alexandra in the Carabao Cup in August 2019, aged 21.

It was quickly followed by two league starts away to Huddersfield Town and his Riverside league debut against Fulham - in both of which he kept clean sheets. Though all are memories that will live with Pears for the rest of his life - it’s a game later in that season that the shot-stopper remembers most fondly.

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“Playing for Middlesbrough for the first time was probably the best moment of my life,” he tells Teesside Live, a little over four years since he left the club to join Blackburn Rovers. “I can remember my debut against Crewe and my first league game at Huddersfield and Fulham at home after that. Amazing experiences and the Huddersfield one stands out as a big moment. I struggled to sleep before that one.

“What really stands out is a bit later in the season though, away at West Brom - that game where Ashley Fletcher scored that volley. We got a good win that day. But I remember it because the fans were singing my name. I remember hearing it and just thinking, ‘Wow, this is amazing!’.

“It was all a bit much to take in at the time really. I was young and it was a lot to take in, so I probably just tried to roll with it at the time - stay calm. Looking back though, it was amazing.”

Pears’ breakthrough at Boro in 2019-20 - in which he ended up making 25 appearances - naturally meant a lot to him on a personal level. Backed by manager Jonathan Woodgate after Darren Randolph got injured, he enjoyed a long run in the side from the end of November.

But it was by no means plain-sailing as Boro struggled into an unexpected relegation battle, Covid hit and caused the season to be delayed, before Woodgate was sacked shortly after the resumption and replaced by Neil Warnock.

“It was a difficult season,” Pears recalls. “It was tough to take because Woody put a lot of faith in me and I thank him for it every time I see him. He could have played Tomas Mejias when Randolph got injured, but he chose me and stuck with me. The fact he believed in me was huge for my confidence. It meant a lot.

“I loved the season in the most part because I was playing for Middlesbrough; I was realising a dream. So I was buzzing. But then the realisation hit that we were in trouble and I’m thinking, ‘I can’t get my hometown team relegated’. I felt the pressure, like we all did.

“Thankfully we managed to stay up but I was gutted to see Woody go because of everything he’d done for me. Obviously Neil Warnock came in and did what he was good at and we managed to get over the line.”

While there was relief, initially, for Pears, it all came at a cost. Covid hit Boro’s finances, like every club’s, hard. With Warnock bringing in Marcus Bettinelli to add more experience between the sticks, Pears found his time at his boyhood club coming to an end, just months after initial conversations had started over a new long-term contract.

“It was tough to leave,” Pears says. “I was Boro through and through and I adored it. In the January before Covid there’d been some talks around a new contract but then Covid hit and everything changed really. When we came back, the club took up the option on my existing deal for another 12 months and then Blackburn came in and that was that really.

“It was a good opportunity for me in the circumstances. I already knew Mogga and Veno [Mark Venus] which helped, and obviously it’s proven a great move for me. I’ve been here almost five years now and it’s done me the world of good.

“I feel I’m showing now what I can do and having the best season I’ve ever had this season. That’s natural, I think. I’m 26 now, so still relatively young for a keeper and I’m closing in on a hundred games. So it’s probably just natural that you improve the more you play. It’s been a really good move and I’m just trying to keep improving to help the team as much as I can.”

This is Pears’ first big interview on Teesside since leaving Boro as he reflects on a rather whirlwind time five years ago. He’s speaking to Teesside Live ahead of Saturday’s game between Boro and Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup third round. It won’t, of course, be his first return to the Riverside. In fact, he’s proven a bit of a thorn in Boro’s side in the last 12 months - keeping two clean sheets as Blackburn left the Riverside with four points from a possible six. He’ll be looking for more of the same on Saturday if he gets the nod for the cup game.

He said: “The Riverside is a special place and I love it every time I go back. It’s always a bit weird and you see so many familiar faces, many who played such an important role in getting me where I am today.

“They’ve always been my team, so I always want to play well there, no matter who I’m playing for. I’ll always love Middlesbrough, and as long as it’s not against Blackburn, I’ll always want them to do well. But Blackburn are my club now and I always give my all to help Blackburn get a good result. I always love going back.”

Looking beyond this weekend’s cup game though, the two sides closest to Pears’ heart are in direct competition in the Championship too. Both have top-six aspirations this season, with Boro currently fifth but John Eustace’s side just two points behind, and with a game in hand.

“There are three or four at the top who look strong, which leaves probably two or three play-off spots to play for,” Pears assessed. “That’s our aim, and I’m sure that’s exactly the same for Middlesbrough. It’s going to be a battle in the last 20 games to see who can get in them, and I know we’ll certainly try our very best to make it us. We’ve got a great squad that will give everything we’ve got. That’s our goal.”