Keeping a tight ship is crucial to coming through what is threatening to be a dodgy month for Middlesbrough.

The danger of losing key men of the likes of Emmanuel Latte Lath and Ben Doak is not just hanging over head coach Michael Carrick, but the players as well. One thing we don’t need at this stage is to see the togetherness and positive atmosphere in the dressing room take a nosedive.

It was hard enough for the players to come up against a Cardiff City side which battled and scrapped to make Boro sweat to create even the narrowest of openings. The draw felt like a defeat at the final whistle. Yet Boro need to get used to the fact that many opposition teams are going to come to the Riverside and produce Cardiff-like performances.

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Boro can be certain that Blackburn, who frustrated our team and fans alike in the Championship in November, will arrive on Teesside for the FA Cup tie with the same stingy policy in place. I’m sure that Boro work on generating penetrative attacking moves on the training ground. However, there’s a great need for the team to improve in this area.

Boro struggled for the main part to find a way through the massed Cardiff defence despite dominating possession for long spells. In Doak we have a match winner, but Cardiff had two men marking him whenever possible. On the other hand that sort of double man-marking should create space for Boro elsewhere on the pitch.

Delano Burgzorg offers some creativity on the other flank but when Finn Azaz does not get hold of the game we have major problems in terms of breaking down the opposition. I liked the way that Hayden Hackney began to push forward more constructively in the second half. He did add fresh attacking options and maybe it’s something which should be looked at more closely as he has more to offer than just a deep role.

The danger is that Boro are beginning to produce some Jekyll and Hyde performances which have no rhyme or reason. They were woeful defensively against Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday yet since then have tightened up considerably in defence with one goal conceded in the last three games outings.

In this respect, the return of Rav van den Berg has made a big difference. Hopefully the Dutchman can now stay fit until the end of the season. I never thought that George Edmundson would have to battle for his place but that’s now clearly the case. The more competition the better.

And, while Dael Fry has also bounced back strongly, it will be hoped that the dominant defender quickly forgets his gaffe against Cardiff and ensures there is no repeat. Just kick it anywhere away from goal in future Dael!

Overall, the main concern remains at the Riverside, even though Boro have so far gained slightly more points on Teesside than on their travels. The last three home games have all produced draws. If Boro had taken those extra six points they would be level on points with Sunderland and very well established in the play-off positions.

However, there’s no pointing crying over spilt milk. Boro remain in control of their own destiny and a cup win against Blackburn would help to raise confidence to a higher level. You can already predict how both sides will set out their stalls. Boro haven’t beaten Blackburn at the Riverside since 2012 so the visitors are bound to be feeling positive.

The best thing which could possibly happen is for Boro to score a couple of early goals and give themselves strong foundations. At the same time, they need to be ready to grind out a victory in the same manner of their win against Millwall in mid-November. It’s a case of everybody sticking together and proving that they are an even better side than their current league position suggests.