A defiant Jonny Howson refuses to give up on Middlesbrough’s automatic promotion hopes, as he made clear his mentality for the second half of the season.

The Boro skipper missed Boxing Day’s 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday with a niggle, but is not expected to be absent long-term, having only recently returned from injury. The veteran is determined to play his part in helping Boro win promotion back to the Premier League, as Boro’s second-longest serving player now.

Signed in the aftermath of Boro’s last relegation from the top flight, Howson’s goal has always been to help Boro get back there. He’s been close on a few occasions but the task remains the same. Having played catchup in both of Michael Carrick’s attempts at steering the Riverside reins so far, Boro are this time right in the mix, sitting just one point outside the top six at the halfway mark in the season, albeit 12 points now off the top two.

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Displaying his mentality in the promotion battle though, Howson insists he won’t be only targeting a top-six finish this term. He said: “We’re in a better position than we’ve been in in previous seasons. But I’m a massive believer in not looking too far ahead. When you start doing that, you maybe take your eye off the ball a bit on what’s right in front of you and that’s when mistakes can happen.

“It’s nice where we are, but, if I’m being honest, I think we probably should be better off than where we are because of the points we’ve dropped this season. I take that as a positive as well. It shows our potential. There’s a long way to go and there’s still plenty of points to play for.

“We’re around sixth but for me, the aim should be to go even higher, rather than just looking for sixth spot. I think until you’re top of the table, there should never be a mentality of being happy with the position you’re in and looking to sustain that. With this squad, I don’t see why we can’t still chase for more than just top six.

“There’s no reason we can’t still look at the top two and chase that down. It’s about mindset and perception; how you look at different positions at certain points through a season. We still believe. We’re halfway through the season. In previous seasons, we have gone on strong runs and chased other teams down. Not just us, but other teams have been able to do that in the past as well.

“Some of the points we’ve dropped this season, we’re disappointed with and feel like we should have more. But it is what it is; that’s the position we’re in. Whether it’s as an individual or as a team, we should always be striving to improve every day and that’s what we’ll look to do moving forward.”

In his eight seasons at Boro, Howson has seen many players come and go, with the current squad having a very different feel to the one he first joined back in 2017. Asked how he compares this current squad to the others he’s been part of though, it’s not something Howson can do.

“It's difficult,” he explained. “I've always found, not just teams I've been in here but previous teams, it's always difficult to compare because the league changes and type of football changes. So there's a different style of football, different changes, a different way of playing.

"Now, even in this league, the majority of teams will try to play out and start from the back, but if you go back to when I first came you didn't have half as many. Teams change, players change, so I find it hard to compare.”