John Eustace says he expects Middlesbrough to make the Championship play-offs this season, despite orchestrating another Riverside win for his Blackburn Rovers side.

Twice in the last two months, Eustace has guided his side to victory over Boro. Both were carbon copies of one another too, with Blackburn defending resolutely to frustrate Michael Carrick’s side before finding a goal at the other end to win the game.

The latest on Saturday helped his side progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup after they claimed three big Championship points back in November. The two sides will be considered in direct competition for a top-six finish this season - with Blackburn two points behind fifth-placed Boro but with a game in hand. Despite that, Eustace made his Boro prediction for the season clear after the FA Cup win.

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“I thought we were very good today,” Eustace said. “We didn’t have many options to change things, but the changes we did make worked well. I’m just very happy we won the game. We were down to the bare bones really and maybe would have liked to have made a few more changes than we did to rest a few more.

“But we pride ourselves on being hard to play against and I thought the clean sheet was well-deserved today. Balazs [Toth] came in for his debut and didn’t have much to do. We created some good chances, played some good football, and were really happy with the performance.

“We’ve come up against a very good football team today and I am sure they will finish up in the top six. With that in mind, to come here and perform like we did was very pleasing.”

The victory came courtesy of forward Andi Weimann, who fired the visitors ahead in the 70th minute, just moments after missing a glorious chance when Tom Glover failed to clear his lines and instead kicked it straight off the pressing Austrian. In a game lacking much quality, it wasn’t the only chance Blackburn created as they did more than enough to justify their win.

“We need to be more clinical, of course we do,” Eustace continued. “But I’m just pleased we’re through to the next round. Andi missed a big one just before scoring and he could have let it affect him but he’s been a top performer for many years, so he doesn't let things get him down. I’m sure he was disappointed not to score the first chance but his goal is a great finish.”